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.
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.
From the archive
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