Kamakura era
Ultramarine & Chalk White— 群青と胡粉
The deep ultramarine of Buddhist mineral pigment against temple chalk white.
#264A6B
blue · 1 palette
Gunjō
群青
Ultramarine blue
About Gunjō
Gunjō (群青) is a deep, muted blue tone. Its hex value is #264A6B — that is
RGB 38, 74, 107, or HSL 209°, 48%, 28%.
Ultramarine blue.
It holds 9.2:1 contrast against white, so Gunjō works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 9.2:1; on black 2.3:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Gunjō appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Gofun and Kogane.
Colours that go with Gunjō
From a standard colour wheel, Gunjō anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#264A6B #6B4726
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#264A6B #266B69 #26286B
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#264A6B #6B264A #4A6B26
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#264A6B #6B2628 #6B6926
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Gunjō
Gunjō is a deep, muted tone (HSL 209°, 48%, 28%), which makes it a grounding background or strong accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (9.2:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#6B4726) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#266B69 and #26286B) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Gunjō off the screen
A hex code is an instruction to a screen, not a colour. Where this one is going decides what it needs next.
Affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
-
...onto paper
Start here if the palette gets printed. Screen colour and ink colour are not the same colour, and this is the deck that translates between them.
Listed on Amazon as Pantone GP6102B Color Bridge Guide Set Coated & Uncoated, Multi-Colour
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...onto a screen you can trust
Start here if it stays digital. An uncalibrated monitor is the single most common reason a palette that looked right on your desk looks wrong everywhere else.
Calibrite
ColorChecker Studio spectrophotometer
Listed on Amazon as Calibrite ColorChecker Studio Spectrophotometer for Complete Color Management for Display, Projector, Printer and Scanner Profiling
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...by hand
Start here if you are mixing it. Wada's plates were flat printed colour; gansai pans are the closest everyday medium to them.
Kuretake
Gansai Tambi 24 — Art Nouveau
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 24 Colors II - Art Nouveau
See price on Amazon
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Palettes with Gunjō
Gunjō appears in 1 combination from the archive. For how usage like this compares across the whole dictionary, see the data analysis of all 348 plates.
Questions about Gunjō
- What is the hex code for Gunjō?
- Gunjō (群青) is #264A6B. Ultramarine blue It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Gunjō look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Gunjō (#264A6B) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 9.23:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 2.27:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Gunjō come from?
- Gunjō is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued blue pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Gunjō in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#264A6B) are factual data — not copyrightable. Our curation and descriptions are CC BY 4.0 licensed.
From the archive
Support the archive The full catalog, on your disk, as a thank-you.
- All 378 palettes (348 Wada + 30 editorial) in five formats
- Figma design tokens (W3C-spec JSON, drag into any file)
- Tailwind v4 + v3 configs — drop into any project
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- 378 SVG plates (348 Wada + 30 editorial) — print-ready at any size
- Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
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