Kamakura era · austere · refined · serene

Spring Green & Ink 萌黄と墨

Young shoot green against sumi ink — the two extremes of the Japanese calligrapher's world.

萌黄

Moegi

#A7C957

Spring shoot green

Sumi

#1C1C1C

Ink black

生成

Kinari

#F8F4E9

Natural paper

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About this combination

Moegi is the yellow-green of new shoots pushing through earth in early spring. Sumi is the black of stick ink ground on a slate inkstone. Together they frame the scroll of the monk-calligrapher: life against discipline.

Where it works

  • Editorial design with high contrast
  • Stationery and writing supplies
  • Zen-inspired wellness brands

Historical context

This combination from Wada's catalog anchors Moegi, Sumi and Kinari in the green family — a 3-colour grouping with a austere, refined, serene character, recorded in the Kamakura-era volumes of Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, where these shikisai names have sat in the public domain for generations. Its strongest pairing — Sumi on Kinari — reaches a contrast ratio of 15.51:1, clearing the WCAG AAA bar for body text, so it holds up for text-on-colour layouts as well as decorative use.

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<iframe src="https://colorcombinations.org/embed/moegi-sumi/" width="320" height="80" frameborder="0" style="border-radius:6px;overflow:hidden;" title="Spring Green & Ink color palette — colorcombinations.org"></iframe>

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