Edo era
Light Pink & Tea— 薄紅と茶
A whisper of pink against tea brown — the tone of an Edo-period lacquer sweet box.
#E8A4A4
red · 1 palette
Usubeni
薄紅
Light red
About Usubeni
Usubeni (薄紅) is a light, vivid red tone. Its hex value is #E8A4A4 — that is
RGB 232, 164, 164, or HSL 0°, 60%, 78%.
Light red.
It holds 10.3:1 contrast against dark, so Usubeni works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 2.0:1; on black 10.3:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Usubeni appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Cha and Kinari.
Colours that go with Usubeni
From a standard colour wheel, Usubeni anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#E8A4A4 #A4E8E8
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#E8A4A4 #E8A4C6 #E8C6A4
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#E8A4A4 #A4E8A4 #A4A4E8
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#E8A4A4 #A4E8C6 #A4C6E8
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Usubeni
Usubeni is a light, vivid tone (HSL 0°, 60%, 78%), which makes it a soft background or a light accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a dark background (10.3:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#A4E8E8) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#E8A4C6 and #E8C6A4) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Usubeni 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
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...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 24 — Art Nouveau
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 24 Colors II - Art Nouveau
See price on Amazon
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Palettes with Usubeni
Usubeni 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 Usubeni
- What is the hex code for Usubeni?
- Usubeni (薄紅) is #E8A4A4. Light red It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Usubeni look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Usubeni (#E8A4A4) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 2.04:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 10.28:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Usubeni come from?
- Usubeni is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued red pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Usubeni in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#E8A4A4) 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
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