Heian era
Royal Purple & Silver— 紫と銀
Imperial purple set against lunar silver — Heian courtly luxury at its quietest.
#7A4E8F
purple · 1 palette
Murasaki
紫
Royal purple
About Murasaki
Murasaki (紫) is a mid-tone, muted purple tone. Its hex value is #7A4E8F — that is
RGB 122, 78, 143, or HSL 281°, 29%, 43%.
Royal purple.
It holds 6.3:1 contrast against white, so Murasaki works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 6.3:1; on black 3.3:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Murasaki appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Gin, Sumi and Gofun.
The story of Murasaki
Murasaki (紫) is the deep purple dyed from the roots of the murasaki plant (Lithospermum erythrorhizon) — a colour so labour-intensive to produce that the Heian court reserved its darkest variants as kinjiki (forbidden colours), wearable only by the imperial family and highest court ranks. The cheaper variants were available to the rest of the aristocracy; commoners were forbidden the colour entirely.
The dye-plant gave its name to the colour and to one of the most-quoted figures in Japanese literature: Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji, took her name from this very pigment. Modern usage: heritage luxury, premium publishing, brands trading on intellectual or imperial association. Reads more spiritual than party-purple.
Working note: Pairs canonically with chalk-white gofun for high-formality or with deep gold for ceremonial register. Avoid fluorescent neighbours — murasaki belongs to a slow palette.
See Murasaki in the Japanese Color Glossary →
How often colors like this recur across the 348 plates — the data analysis →
Colours that go with Murasaki
From a standard colour wheel, Murasaki anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#7A4E8F #638F4E
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#7A4E8F #5A4E8F #8F4E84
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#7A4E8F #8F7A4E #4E8F7A
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#7A4E8F #848F4E #4E8F5A
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Murasaki
Murasaki is a mid-tone, muted tone (HSL 281°, 29%, 43%), 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 (6.3:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#638F4E) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#5A4E8F and #8F4E84) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Murasaki 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
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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 Murasaki
Murasaki 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 Murasaki
- What is the hex code for Murasaki?
- Murasaki (紫) is #7A4E8F. Royal purple It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Murasaki look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Murasaki (#7A4E8F) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 6.34:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 3.31:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Murasaki come from?
- Murasaki is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued purple pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Murasaki in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#7A4E8F) 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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- Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
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