About & sources

Japanese Colors is a reference for the traditional color names of Japan — their kanji, readings, approximate values, and the dye-house and court culture behind them. It is written in English for designers, artists and Japan enthusiasts everywhere.

Where the data comes from

• Color names, readings and candidate values: 日本の色の一覧 (ja.wikipedia) and Traditional colors of Japan (en.wikipedia), both CC BY-SA. Values from each source are shown on every color page.
• Standard color names are cross-checked against JIS Z 8102 (慣用色名).
• Historical notes are original text written for this site, based on standard reference works.
• Photographs: Pexels, ぱくたそ (pakutaso.com) and 写真AC (photo-ac.com). All are used under each service's free license.
• Pronunciation audio is generated with VOICEVOX: 雀松朱司

Notes on accuracy

Hex values are documented approximations — historical dyes never had one exact value. Where sources disagree we show each source's value and pick one canonical approximation for display. Treat every value as a faithful approximation, not gospel. Descriptions are original text written for this site.

Classical sources & further reading

The naming tradition itself is older than any website. These are the classical roots and the standard modern references on Japanese color:

• 『延喜式』縫殿寮「雑染用度」 — the 10th-century court regulations that record dye recipes for many of these colors. Read the scanned pages (国史大系 vol.13, 1900, NDL Digital Collections, public domain).
• 『装束の色目』 kasane traditions of the Heian court, as transmitted in costume manuals.
• 長崎盛輝『日本の傳統色彩』 / 『色・彩色の日本史』 — standard modern scholarship on the historical palette.
• 吉岡幸雄『日本の色辞典』 (紫紅社) — the Kyoto dye-house tradition, with recreated dyed samples.
• 福田邦夫『日本の伝統色 色の小辞典』 — accessible reference on name origins.

Run by

LHAS WEBWORKS — the studio behind japanese-names.info and kanji.tools.