Kamakura era
Vermillion, Black, Gold— 朱・黒・金
The ceremonial triad of temple lacquerware — vermillion, lacquer black, gold leaf.
#141414
neutral · 1 palette
Kuro
黒
Lacquer black
About Kuro
Kuro (黒) is a deep, near-neutral neutral tone. Its hex value is #141414 — that is
RGB 20, 20, 20, or HSL 0°, 0%, 8%.
Lacquer black.
It holds 18.4:1 contrast against white, so Kuro works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 18.4:1; on black 1.1:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Kuro appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Shu and Kin.
The story of Kuro
Kuro (黒) is black — but Japanese tradition distinguishes several blacks, and kuro is the everyday one: closer to Indian ink with a slight warmth, less absolute than printer's black. Used for kimono base colour in formal mourning (where it's worn paired with white only), for crests (mon) on white silk, and for the structural lines in calligraphy and ink-wash painting (sumi-e).
Where sumi (墨, ink) is the calligraphy-specific black with sheen and depth, kuro is the broader 'black' of textile and lacquer. Modern usage: luxury packaging, premium menswear, editorial design — kuro reads warmer than Western black, especially when paired with cream rather than pure white.
See Kuro in the Japanese Color Glossary →
How often colors like this recur across the 348 plates — the data analysis →
Colours that go with Kuro
As a deep near-neutral, Kuro sits comfortably beside almost any accent — the schemes below show the subtle, reliable pairings from a standard colour wheel.
Complementary
#141414 #141414
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#141414 #141414 #141414
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#141414 #141414 #141414
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#141414 #141414 #141414
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Kuro
Kuro is a deep, near-neutral tone (HSL 0°, 0%, 8%), which makes it a grounding background or strong accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (18.4:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#141414) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#141414 and #141414) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Kuro 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
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
ColorChecker Studio spectrophotometer
Listed on Amazon as Calibrite ColorChecker Studio Spectrophotometer for Complete Color Management for Display, Projector, Printer and Scanner Profiling
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.
Pentel
Fude Touch brush sign pen
Listed on Amazon as Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pen, Black, Felt Pen Like Brush Stroke (SES15C-A) 3 Pieces
See price on Amazon
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Palettes with Kuro
Kuro 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 Kuro
- What is the hex code for Kuro?
- Kuro (黒) is #141414. Lacquer black It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Kuro look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Kuro (#141414) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 18.42:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 1.14:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Kuro come from?
- Kuro is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued neutral pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Kuro in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#141414) 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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