Edo era
Madder Red & Evergreen— 茜と常磐
The rooted red of madder-dyed cotton set against enduring pine green.
#344E3D
green · 1 palette
Tokiwa
常磐
Evergreen
About Tokiwa
Tokiwa (常磐) is a deep, near-neutral green tone. Its hex value is #344E3D — that is
RGB 52, 78, 61, or HSL 141°, 20%, 25%.
Evergreen.
It holds 9.1:1 contrast against white, so Tokiwa works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 9.1:1; on black 2.3:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Tokiwa appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Akane, Suna-iro and Sumi.
The story of Tokiwa
Tokiwa (常磐) — literally 'eternal rock' — is the deep evergreen of pine needles and cedar bark, named for the trees that hold their colour through winter. It's a structural green: the colour of an eternal hedge, a temple cypress, a household crest passed through generations. The word carries the connotation of permanence rather than nature.
In palette work tokiwa is the canonical green axis of folk-textile combinations — most famously paired with akane (madder red) in the textbook 'red and green' of Japanese rural clothing, without the Christmas-y connotations of the Western pairing. Reads grounded, warm, and pre-modern.
Working note: Tokiwa + akane is the folk-formal pair; tokiwa + kinari is the everyday wear. Avoid pairing with seiji or asagi — those greens cancel rather than complement.
See Tokiwa in the Japanese Color Glossary →
How often colors like this recur across the 348 plates — the data analysis →
Colours that go with Tokiwa
From a standard colour wheel, Tokiwa anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#344E3D #4E3445
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#344E3D #384E34 #344E4A
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#344E3D #3D344E #4E3D34
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#344E3D #4A344E #4E3438
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Tokiwa
Tokiwa is a deep, muted tone (HSL 141°, 20%, 25%), which makes it a grounding background or strong accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (9.1:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#4E3445) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#384E34 and #344E4A) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Tokiwa 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
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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
See price on Amazon
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Palettes with Tokiwa
Tokiwa 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 Tokiwa
- What is the hex code for Tokiwa?
- Tokiwa (常磐) is #344E3D. Evergreen It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Tokiwa look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Tokiwa (#344E3D) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 9.12:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 2.30:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Tokiwa come from?
- Tokiwa is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued green pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Tokiwa in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#344E3D) are factual data — not copyrightable. Our curation and descriptions are CC BY 4.0 licensed.
From the archive
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