Edo era
Edo Purple & Mouse Grey— 江戸紫と鼠
The cool Edo purple worn by kabuki actors against mouse grey — theatrical understatement.
#8A8A8A
neutral · 1 palette
Nezumi
鼠
Mouse grey
About Nezumi
Nezumi (鼠) is a mid-tone, near-neutral neutral tone. Its hex value is #8A8A8A — that is
RGB 138, 138, 138, or HSL 0°, 0%, 54%.
Mouse grey.
It holds 6.1:1 contrast against dark, so Nezumi works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 3.5:1; on black 6.1:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Nezumi appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Edo-murasaki, Sumi and Kinari.
Colours that go with Nezumi
As a mid-tone near-neutral, Nezumi sits comfortably beside almost any accent — the schemes below show the subtle, reliable pairings from a standard colour wheel.
Complementary
#8A8A8A #8A8A8A
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#8A8A8A #8A8A8A #8A8A8A
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#8A8A8A #8A8A8A #8A8A8A
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#8A8A8A #8A8A8A #8A8A8A
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Nezumi
Nezumi is a mid-tone, near-neutral tone (HSL 0°, 0%, 54%), which makes it a versatile mid-tone for accents, buttons or blocks. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a dark background (6.1:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#8A8A8A) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#8A8A8A and #8A8A8A) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Nezumi
Nezumi 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.
From the archive
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- All 378 palettes (348 Wada + 30 editorial) in five formats
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