Edo era
Indigo Blue & Silver— 縹と銀
Mid-grade indigo with the quiet sheen of silver — an understated Edo merchant robe.
#3C6E8F
blue · 1 palette
Hanada
縹
Indigo blue
About Hanada
Hanada (縹) is a mid-tone, muted blue tone. Its hex value is #3C6E8F — that is
RGB 60, 110, 143, or HSL 204°, 41%, 40%.
Indigo blue.
It holds 5.5:1 contrast against white, so Hanada works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 5.5:1; on black 3.8:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Hanada appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Gin and Kinari.
The story of Hanada
Hanada (縹) is the half-indigo blue — a cooler, paler blue than the deep koniro of Edo-period workwear, but warmer than pure cyan. It sits between sky-blue and a deep blue-grey. Historically it was used in court robes, summer kimonos, and shop curtains, and is one of the named colours that appears most consistently in Wada's catalogue.
The Japandi palette uses hanada as a quiet cool axis: it's the colour of a winter sky in a well-designed room. Where seiji pulls toward Japanese ceramics, hanada pulls toward Scandinavian textiles — and bridges the two traditions cleanly.
See Hanada in the Japanese Color Glossary →
How often colors like this recur across the 348 plates — the data analysis →
Colours that go with Hanada
From a standard colour wheel, Hanada anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#3C6E8F #8F5D3C
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#3C6E8F #3C8F86 #3C458F
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#3C6E8F #8F3C6E #6E8F3C
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#3C6E8F #8F3C45 #8F863C
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Hanada
Hanada is a mid-tone, muted tone (HSL 204°, 41%, 40%), which makes it a versatile mid-tone for accents, buttons or blocks. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (5.5:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#8F5D3C) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#3C8F86 and #3C458F) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Hanada 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.
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...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.
Pantone
Color Bridge Guide — coated
Listed on Amazon as Pantone Color Bridge Guide Coated | Pantone to CMYK, RGB & HTML Color Matching Fan Deck for Graphic Design, Branding & Print | GG6103B
See price on Amazon -
...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
Display Plus HL colorimeter kit
Listed on Amazon as Calibrite Video Photo Kit with Display Plus HL Colorimeter and ColorChecker Passport Video 2, 10,000 Nit Monitor Calibration, Camera Color Matching
See price on Amazon -
...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 36
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 36 Colors
See price on Amazon
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Palettes with Hanada
Hanada 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 Hanada
- What is the hex code for Hanada?
- Hanada (縹) is #3C6E8F. Indigo blue It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Hanada look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Hanada (#3C6E8F) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 5.50:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 3.82:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Hanada come from?
- Hanada 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 Hanada in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#3C6E8F) 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
- CSS custom properties — every plate, one stylesheet
- 378 SVG plates (348 Wada + 30 editorial) — print-ready at any size
- Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
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