About this prototype

Sources & method

Colors and combinations are by Sanzo Wada (和田三造, 1883–1967), from Haishoku Sōkan (配色総鑑, 1933–34) and Haishoku Sōkan B-hen (1934–35). Seigensha republished them as A Dictionary of Color Combinations (2010) and A Dictionary of Color Combinations Vol. 2 (2020). If they are useful to you, buy the books.

Screen color is an approximation

The books specify colors as CMYK printing values. Hex values here are imported CMYK→sRGB port outputs or retained estimates. RGB and OKLCH are computed from those hex values; the generator does not rerun or independently validate ICC transforms. None is an accurate reproduction of the original printed swatches, which also vary with paper, ink, age and light.

Data

The original B-series plate 35 prints Pomegranate Purple. The a26 port spelling Pomegranite Purple and existing b29 spelling are preserved, with a sourced searchable alias. Original plate evidence; modern edition spelling/mapping remains unverified.

The data is bundled as one static JSON file (data/wada.json). Vol. 2 colors whose CMYK matches a Vol. 1 color reuse its converted hex and Japanese name. The other 19 Vol. 2 colors (Pale Purplish Vinaceous, Pale Cinnamon-Pink, Pale Ecru-Drab, Raw Sienna, Carmine Red, Hays Russet, Sea-foam Yellow, Citrine, Dull Citrine, Pale Turtle Green, Rainette Green, Grape Green, Diamine Green, Pale Kings Blue, Pale Methy Blue, Dull Violet Black, Violet Ultramarine, Dark Perilla Purple, Dull Purplish Black) have no Vol. 1 match. Their legacy estimated hex values are preserved as pinned inputs, and they have no Japanese name here. The original cubic CMYK→Lab generator, coefficients and leave-one-out validation are unavailable. The previously reported mean ΔE76 ≈ 0.7 is withdrawn as unverified; this build makes no model-accuracy claim.

The seasonal port maps each color to the combinations it appears in. It doesn't record the order or proportion of colors within a palette, and its month grouping (1–6 January … 67–72 December) is taken as given. Compositions on this site are illustrative: area goes to the least chromatic color and the smallest point to the most chromatic.

Provenance and unresolved evidence

All 330 color records and 581 combinations have a machine-readable ledger in the dataset. The 159 Vol. 1 mappings and 152 reused names remain unresolved against authenticated modern edition tables; 19 Japanese labels are missing. Dictionary headword attestation, historical plate labels, EN/JA pairing, source swatches and conversion validation are separate fields. No claim that all Japanese names are certified is made.

Historical spellings are preserved. a93/b99: 鶸萌木 versus original B34 鶸萌黄 / Light Green remains an edition difference to investigate. 千斎茶 remains unresolved; no presumed correction is applied. Selected original labels are attested with plate URLs, but those observations do not certify modern CMYK or screen values.

Every one of the 72 month palettes and 161 design records has a source crosswalk/status, including null unresolved modern page/plate fields. The publisher’s Vol. 2 overview says 161 designs, a bullet says 165, and it advertises 172 chips; the port supplies 171 colors. The missing chip’s identity and count discrepancy remain unresolved. No missing records are invented. Site numbers are port identifiers, not authenticated original plate numbers.

Regenerate offline with npm run colors:generate; verify pinned input hashes and output with npm run colors:check. The tracked generator rebuilds memberships from upstream rows, validates IDs and all 152 reuse links, and retains 19 explicit estimates. This reproduces the dataset assembly, not the absent legacy fit or a measured print-to-screen conversion.

Traditional month labels refer to the old calendar and can differ from present seasonal timing by one or two months; modern month labels here are navigation. Seasons follow Japan’s weather convention, not a universal calendar. NDL explanation · Season convention.

Color math

OKLCH is computed in the browser from each hex value (sRGB → linear → OKLab using Björn Ottosson's matrices → polar), with no libraries. Contrast ratios follow WCAG 2.x relative luminance.

Motion & Message lab

The Motion playbook is by Audy, for TFIS. Message-lab research cards distinguish validated bibliographies from abstract and full-text review. The reviewed material establishes no measured Wada-palette/video outcome. Palette and motion advice is a testable editorial hypothesis; see each card’s review status and limitations. The lab ships an A/B checklist instead of a retention number.

Keyboard

R random combination · / search · ← → previous/next combination or month · F save · C compare · Esc back

A prototype by The Future Is Solo. Not affiliated with Seigensha or the Wada estate.