Japanese Color Palette
A Japanese color palette is rarely "just colors". It is a curated relationship — sakura against fresh leaf green, beni against indigo, sumi over washi. This guide collects the most useful palette starting points, with copyable HEX and source attribution.
How to pick a Japanese palette
Start with the scene, not the swatch. Wedding palettes, tea packaging, kimono palettes, ukiyo-e palettes, and modern Japandi palettes all serve different jobs.
Once the scene is fixed, choose three to seven named traditional colors. Don't exceed seven — Edo-era restraint, not Pinterest abundance, is the differentiator.
Test contrast. The atlas's palette builder shows WCAG AA ratios live as you assemble swatches.
Seasonal palettes — the canonical four
Spring 春: 桜色 (sakura-iro), 撫子色 (nadeshiko-iro), 萌黄色 (moegi-iro), 藤色 (fuji-iro), 山吹色 (yamabuki-iro).
Summer 夏: 藍色 (ai-iro), 浅葱色 (asagi-iro), 抹茶色 (matcha-iro), 群青 (gunjō), 水色 (mizu-iro).
Autumn 秋: 紅 (beni), 朱 (shu), 山吹色 (yamabuki-iro), 朽葉色 (kuchiba-iro), 柿色 (kaki-iro).
Winter 冬: 墨色 (sumi-iro), 漆黒 (shikkoku), 雪色 (yuki-iro), 鈍色 (nibi-iro), 紫 (murasaki).
Scene palettes
Wedding (kekkon-shiki) — 紅白 red-and-white core with gold accents: 紅 (beni), 白 (gofun white), and 金 (gold).
Tea brand (cha) — 抹茶色, 茶色, 胡粉色, and a thin 朱 accent.
Ukiyo-e print — Edo-era pigment palette: 藍, 紅, 黄, 墨, with selective 紫 highlights.
Japandi UI — washi white, sumi black, indigo accent, oak (tsuchi-iro / kinari) base.
Exporting a Japanese palette
Use the palette builder to lock the named colors. Export to HEX, CSS variables, Tailwind tokens, JSON, ASE, or Figma Variables.
Pair traditional colors with semantic roles in your design system: 藍 → brand-primary, 桜色 → accent-soft, 墨色 → text-primary, 胡粉色 → surface-base.
How many colors should a Japanese palette have?
Three to seven. Edo-era restraint, not Pinterest abundance, is the visual differentiator.
What is the most iconic Japanese palette?
藍 (indigo) + 白 (white) — Aizome workwear contrast — and 桜色 + 萌黄色 — cherry blossom against fresh leaf — are the two most recognizable cultural palettes.
Can I use these palettes commercially?
Yes — the HEX values are uncopyrightable. The atlas's curated sets and descriptions follow the methodology page's reuse policy.
Traditional color values vary by source, textile, pigment, era, and screen display. See the methodology for source-status tiers.