Colors of Japan

During a visit to the art exhibition Japan and the West in the Art Museum Wolfsburg, I was able to get my hands on a wonderful book about the traditional, Japanese colors.

In the museum shop, I bought the book The Traditional Colors of Japan which is in Japanese. In addition to a full-color palette of 250 colors, it contains an exact indication of RGB, CMYK, and other information.

The Traditional Colors of Japan
Traditional Japanese Color Palette

Each page of the book shows three colors that are always juxtaposed with one or more stunning photos. The photos show the traditional use of colors in kimonos, samurai armor, monk clothing, or nature.

In 2011 the second book, Traditional Japanese Color Palette was released which showcases a huge amount of Japanese color palattes with examples from culture, tradition, and art.

Color Palette for Graphic Software

I took the time to create the RGB palette with the correct color names as an Adobe Exchange file (ASE). This color palette can be used in Photoshop or Illustrator.