Muromachi era
Grass Yellow & Rikyū Grey— 刈安と利休鼠
Wild grass yellow tempered by the muted grey favored by the tea master Sen no Rikyū.
#878A74
neutral · 1 palette
Rikyū-nezumi
利休鼠
Rikyū grey
About Rikyū-nezumi
Rikyū-nezumi (利休鼠) is a mid-tone, near-neutral neutral tone. Its hex value is #878A74 — that is
RGB 135, 138, 116, or HSL 68°, 9%, 50%.
Rikyū grey.
It holds 5.9:1 contrast against dark, so Rikyū-nezumi works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 3.5:1; on black 5.9:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Rikyū-nezumi appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Kariyasu and Neri-iro.
Colours that go with Rikyū-nezumi
As a mid-tone near-neutral, Rikyū-nezumi sits comfortably beside almost any accent — the schemes below show the subtle, reliable pairings from a standard colour wheel.
Complementary
#878A74 #77748A
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#878A74 #8A8274 #7C8A74
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#878A74 #74878A #8A7487
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#878A74 #747C8A #82748A
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Rikyū-nezumi
Rikyū-nezumi is a mid-tone, near-neutral tone (HSL 68°, 9%, 50%), 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 (5.9:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#77748A) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#8A8274 and #7C8A74) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Rikyū-nezumi 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.
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.
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
Amazon Associates affiliate links — your price is unchanged and a small commission keeps the archive free. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Palettes with Rikyū-nezumi
Rikyū-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.
Questions about Rikyū-nezumi
- What is the hex code for Rikyū-nezumi?
- Rikyū-nezumi (利休鼠) is #878A74. Rikyū grey It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Rikyū-nezumi look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Rikyū-nezumi (#878A74) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 3.55:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 5.92:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Rikyū-nezumi come from?
- Rikyū-nezumi 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 Rikyū-nezumi in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#878A74) 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
See what's inside
Launching soon. The free archive stays free, always.