Edo era
Persimmon & Burnt Brown— 柿と焦茶
Autumn persimmon against scorched cedar — harvest colors from the countryside.
#4B2E20
brown · 2 palettes
Kogecha
焦茶
Burnt brown
About Kogecha
Kogecha (焦茶) is a deep, muted brown tone. Its hex value is #4B2E20 — that is
RGB 75, 46, 32, or HSL 20°, 40%, 21%.
Burnt brown.
It holds 12.3:1 contrast against white, so Kogecha works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 12.3:1; on black 1.7:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Kogecha appears in 2 combinations — most often paired with Kaki, Kinuta and Kogecha.
The story of Kogecha
Kogecha (焦茶) — literally 'burnt tea' — is the deep brown of over-brewed hojicha, of cedar weathered to near-black, of coffee grounds. It's a structural warm: the colour you place at the bottom of a composition to ground it, the trim colour around a wabi-sabi interior, the binding cloth on a hand-bound book.
Where tobi reads as warm-ink brown with red undertones, kogecha pulls cooler and darker — closer to a true black-brown. Both belong to the wabi-sabi register but kogecha is the more architectural choice: it reads as gravitas where tobi reads as warmth.
See Kogecha in the Japanese Color Glossary →
How often colors like this recur across the 348 plates — the data analysis →
Colours that go with Kogecha
From a standard colour wheel, Kogecha anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#4B2E20 #203D4B
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#4B2E20 #4B2028 #4B4420
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#4B2E20 #204B2E #2E204B
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#4B2E20 #204B43 #20284B
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Kogecha
Kogecha is a deep, muted tone (HSL 20°, 40%, 21%), which makes it a grounding background or strong accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (12.3:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#203D4B) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#4B2028 and #4B4420) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Kogecha 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 36
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 36 Colors
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Palettes with Kogecha
Kogecha appears in 2 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours. For how usage like this compares across the whole dictionary, see the data analysis of all 348 plates.
Questions about Kogecha
- What is the hex code for Kogecha?
- Kogecha (焦茶) is #4B2E20. Burnt brown It appears in 2 historical color combinations from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Kogecha look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Kogecha (#4B2E20) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 12.27:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 1.71:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Kogecha come from?
- Kogecha is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued brown pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Kogecha in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#4B2E20) 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
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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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