The traditional colors of Japan are a collection of colors traditionally used in Japanese art, literature, textiles such as kimono, and other Japanese arts and crafts.
History The traditional colors of Japan trace their historical origins to the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System which was established in 603 by Prince Shōtoku and based on the five Chinese elements. In this system, rank and social hierarchy were displayed and determined by certain colors. Colors known as were strictly reserved for the robes of the Imperial family and highest ranking court officials; for example, the color was used as the color for the robes of the Crown Prince and use by anyone else was prohibited. Colors known as were permitted for use by the common people.
Most names of colors originate from the names of plants, flowers, and animals that bore or resembled them. Certain colors and dyeing techniques have been used since the Asuka period, while others had been developed as late as the Meiji period when synthetic dyes became common. Due to the long history of use of this color system, some variations in color and names exist.
Colors
Red/violet series
NameRomanizedEnglish translationRGBHex tripletNameRomanizedEnglish translationRGBHex tripletOne kin () dye240,143,144#F08F90Peach-colored244,121,131#F47983Red plum colored219,90,107#DB5A6BMedium crimson (dye)201,55,86#C93756Cherry blossom color252,201,185#FCC9B9Washed-out crimson (dye)255,179,167#FFB3A7Pale crimson (dye)242,102,108#F2666C
Red series NameRomanizedEnglish translationRGBHex tripletNameRomanizedEnglish translationRGBHex tripletIbis wing color245,143,132#F58F84Cherry blossom mouse grey172,129,118#AC8181Long spring (season) color185,87,84#B95754Foreign crimson201,31,55#C91F37Cochineal red/rouge157,41,51#9D2933Deep scarlet123,59,58#7B3B3AThrice-dyed crimson247,102,90#F7665AWater persimmon181,108,96#B56C60Plum-blossom mouse grey151,100,90#97645ASappanwood incense162,79,70#A24F46Pure crimson (dye)195,39,43#C3272BTrue red143,29,33#8F1D21Azuki bean color103,36,34#672422Greyed red (lit. silvered red)188,45,41#BC2D29Maroon (shrimp brown)94,40,36#5E2824Red-brown (lit. chestnut-plum)139,53,45#8B352DDawn-color250,123,98#FA7B62Coral color248,103,79#F8674FRed-orange (lit. orangutan-colored)220,48,35#DC3023Wilted brown (lit. wilted lawn-clippings)171,76,61#AB4C3DPersimmon-juice color147,67,55#934337Red birch157,43,34#9D2B22Red kite (bird species)145,50,40#913228Cypress bark red111,48,40#6F3028Black kite (bird species)53,30,28#351E1CBlood red243,83,54#F35336Glazed persimmon211,78,54#D34E36Scarlet (blood)207,58,36#CF3A24Red-brown (Edo brown)161,61,45#A13D2DDyestalk red (lit. the color from dying with the stalk of the (safflower) plant)145,50,37#913225Cypress bark color117,46,35#752E23Meat-color249,144,111#F9906FRinsed-out red255,121,82#FF7952Red incense-colored240,127,94#F07F5EBrewed mustard-brown230,131,100#E68364Ochre (earthen yellow-red-brown)255,78,32#FF4E20Overdyed/refreshed red-brown227,92,56#E35C38Muddy brown (lit. the brown of a distant river)203,102,73#CB6649Spicy red-brown (Chinese tea brown)179,92,68#B35C44Birch brown177,74,48#B14A30Faded spicy red-brown155,83,63#9B533FSparrow-brown140,71,54#8C4736Chestnut-leather brown96,40,30#60281EBoiled red bean brown84,45,36#542D24Ibis-color76,34,27#4C221BCinnabar-color255,53,0#FF3500
Yellow/red series NameRomanizedEnglish translationRGBHex tripletNameRomanizedEnglish translationRGBHex tripletWalnut-dyed159,116,98#9F7462Cattail color182,73,37#B64925Sumac-dyed89,43,31#592B1FScorched brown53,31,25#351F19Rich gardenia245,127,79#F57F4FWashed-out persimmon236,130,84#EC8254Red ochre color159,82,51#9F5233Sawtooth oak236,149,108#EC956CPolished brown152,85,56#985538Green tea-colored130,75,53#824B35Stylish persimmon255,162,107#FFA26BPale persimmon252,164,116#FCA474Daylily-colored255,137,54#FF8936Plum-dyed250,146,88#FA9258Red-bronze (lit. red dye and turmeric)251,129,54#FB8136Clove-brown143,88,60#8F583Cnamed after the swordsman Yoshioka Kenpo (lit. Legal dye)46,33,27#2E211BLoquat tree-brown171,97,52#AB6134Amber color202,105,36#CA6924Pale incense255,165,101#FFA565Decaying leaves color213,120,53#D57835Golden brown198,107,39#C66B27Clove-dyed169,98,50#A96232Fox-color152,86,41#985629Brushwood-dyed140,89,57#8C5939Aloewood-color106,67,45#6A432DWeathered bamboo (lit. "sooty")89,58,39#593A27White tea-colored196,142,105#C48E69Ochre (lit. earthen yellow)190,127,81#BE7F51Golden-grey bamboo (dried and weathered)125,78,45#7D4E2DChinese yellow tea-colored183,112,45#B7702DKobi tea107,68,35#6B4423Red fallen leaves219,132,73#DB8449
Yellow series NameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletNameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletLight yellow247,187,125#F7BB7DGolden yellow (Kerria japonica)255,164,0#FFA400Egg-colored255,166,49#FFA631Sumac-dyed224,138,30#E08A1EGold-brown203,126,31#CB7E1FMulberry-dyed197,127,46#C57F2EThe color of undried plaster120,94,73#785E49Cape jasmine or gardenia255,185,90#FFB95ACorn-colored250,169,69#FAA945White oak206,159,111#CE9F6FGolden oak187,129,65#BB8141Gamboge255,182,30#FFB61E or Floral leaf-colored255,185,78#FFB94EEggshell paper-colored226,190,159#E2BE9FTurmeric-colored230,155,58#E69B3AGolden fallen leaves226,156,69#E29C45Faded Sen no Rikyū's tea176,146,122#B0927ASen no Rikyū's tea130,107,88#826B58Lye-colored127,107,93#7F6B5DJapanese iris and sooty bamboo127,93,59#7F5D3BContemplation in a tea garden102,83,67#665343Simmered seaweed76,61,48#4C3D30Rapeseed oil-colored161,121,23#A17917Yellow Sea pine-brown137,108,57#896C39Japanese bush warbler-brown (greenish brown)92,72,39#5C4827Rape-blossom brown227,177,48#E3B130Japanese triandra grass (Themeda japonica)226,177,60#E2B13CAmur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense)243,193,58#F3C13ASteamed chestnut color211,177,125#D3B17DPale fallen leaves170,135,54#AA8736Finch-brown (Cardueline finch)149,123,56#957B38Patrinia flowers (Patrinia scabiosaefolia)217,182,17#D9B611Japanese bush warbler-colored100,85,48#645530
Yellow/green series
NameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletNameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletGreenfinch color189,169,40#BDA928Pale oak155,168,141#9BA88DWillow tea156,138,77#9C8A4DRikan brown83,74,50#534A32Indigo tea71,63,45#473F2DMoss color139,125,58#8B7D3ACodium fragile seaweed color82,75,42#524B2AThousand year old brown59,52,41#3B3429Baiko brown133,124,85#857C55Iwai brown94,85,69#5E5545Siskin sprout yellow122,148,46#7A942ESooty willow bamboo77,75,58#4D4B3AUnderside of willow leaves188,181,140#BCB58CPale young green onion141,178,85#8DB255Willow-dyed140,158,94#8C9E5EFresh onion91,137,48#5B8930Blue-black clay82,89,59#52593BPine needle color69,77,50#454D32
Green/blue green series NameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletNameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletPale blue140,156,118#8C9C76Young bamboo color107,147,98#6B9362Willow grey129,123,105#817B69Old bamboo color94,100,79#5E644FThousand year old green55,66,49#374231Green42,96,59#2A603BWhitish green165,186,147#A5BA93Rusty celadon137,138,116#898A74Patina64,122,82#407A52Horsetail color61,93,66#3D5D42Storeroom brown61,64,53#3D4035Green bamboo color0,100,66#006442Greyish dark green101,98,85#656255Velvet34,70,52#224634Insect screen45,68,54#2D4436Indigo Codium fragile seaweed brown46,55,46#2E372EAloeswood brown90,100,87#5A6457Pale green onion116,159,141#749F8DCeladon color129,156,139#819C8BBlue-green58,105,96#3A6960Rusty storeroom58,64,59#3A403BIron color43,55,51#2B3733Silk crepe brown53,78,75#354E4BGoryeo storeroom32,56,56#203838
Blue/blue violet series NameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletNameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletHarbor rat117,125,117#757D75Dull blue79,73,68#4F4944Iron storage43,55,54#2B3736Aqua Blue color134,171,165#86ABA5Rusted light-blue106,127,122#6A7F7AInside of a bottle198,194,182#C6C2B6Light blue color72,146,155#48929B"New Bridge" color0,108,127#006C7FRusty storage69,88,89#455859Mousy indigo92,84,78#5C544EIndigo color38,67,72#264348Onando color54,65,65#364141Light blue flower29,105,124#1D697CThousand herb color49,117,137#317589Ichikawa family crest blue77,100,108#4D646CLight blue silk4,79,103#044F67Iron head flower color52,77,86#344D56Kimono storage61,76,81#3D4C51Sky Blue color77,143,172#4D8FACBlack chestnut oak37,35,33#252321Ultramarine color93,140,174#5D8CAEDark blue25,34,54#192236Coarse wool color24,27,38#181B26Lapis lazuli color31,71,136#1F4788Prussian blue color0,49,113#003171Dark blue lapis lazuli27,41,75#1B294BStained red120,119,155#78779BNavy blue bellflower25,31,69#191F45Mousy wisteria118,105,128#766980Safflower color90,79,116#5A4F74Wisteria color137,114,158#89729EDark indigo97,78,110#614E6E
Violet series NameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletNameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletWisteria purple135,95,154#875F9ABellflower color93,63,106#5D3F6ATatarian aster color151,110,154#976E9APoppy purple63,49,58#3F313ABlue-violet43,32,40#2B2028Deep purple58,36,59#3A243BThin color168,124,160#A87CA0Half color141,96,140#8D608CViolet color91,50,86#5B3256Purple79,40,75#4F284BDark red35,25,30#23191EIris color118,53,104#763568Red wisteria187,119,150#BB7796Rabbit-ear iris73,30,60#491E3CDove feather grey117,93,91#755D5BGrape mouse99,66,75#63424BVine grape109,43,80#6D2B50Wisteria and burnt-bamboo77,59,60#4D3B3CTree peony164,52,93#A4345DPlum purple143,65,85#8F4155Fake purple67,36,42#43242APurple kite81,44,49#512C31Sappanwood126,38,57#7E2639Mulberry dye89,41,44#59292CVanishing red mouse68,49,46#44312E
Achromatic series NameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletNameRomanizedEnglishRGBHex tripletUnbleached silk255,221,202#FFDDCAWhite mouse185,161,147#B9A193Silver-grey151,134,124#97867CPlain mouse110,95,87#6E5F57Brown rat grey75,60,57#4B3C39Indigo ink brown57,52,50#393432Betel nut-dyed53,41,37#352925Ink color39,34,31#27221FBlack23,20,18#171412Indigo white235, 246, 247#EBF6F7
Notes
References
Bibliography
https://color-term.com/traditional-color-of-japan/
External links Japanese traditional color Names (archived) The traditional colors of Nippon (Japan)