配色事典―大正・昭和の色彩ノート: A Dictionary of Color Combinations

配色事典 #1

by Sanzo Wada, 和田 三造, Kentarou Oumi

This book is a collection of 348 color combinations originated by Sanzo Wada (1883-1967) who, in that time of increasingly avant-grade and diversified use of color, was quick to focus on the importance of color and laid the foundation for contemporary color research. Sanzo Wada was active as an artist, art school instructor, costume designer for the movies and the theater, and kimono and fashion designer who employed his extensive and versatile talents to do innovative work that centered primarily on visual perception and form.

Sanzo Wada’s interest in color prompted him to found the Japan Standard Color Association (present-day Japan Color Research Institute) in 1927. Active not only as a color researcher but also as an artist, fashion designer, and stage and film art director, he received the 1954 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Gate of Hell and was recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government in 1958.

Genres: Art, Design, Nonfiction, Fashion, Japan, Reference, Art Design

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2010

Reviews

[Mia Thirtle]

helped in my sims home and the connections with colours

[Lucas Derango]

This is an evocative book. It’s the only book I’ve read more than once. I read it cover to cover almost every month. There are few words, only the names of the colors themselves. There’s no suggestions on when these colors should be used together. You as the reader have the freedom to imagine any and every scenario where these colors would mingle with one another. I like to picture scenes in real life where these colors would exist. Not only on a canvas or a piece of cloth, but organic entities and settings as well. Perhaps it keeps the feeble creative sinew in my brain alive. I will stop reading this book when it no longer gives me joy. That day does not seem near.

[Sammy]

A big thank you to Lucas for letting me borrow his favorite book! So fun so good. Very thought provoking. Verrryyyy colorful, which I love.

[David Gustafson]

Sanzo Wada published this collection between 1933 and 1934. If you have some artistic inclinations this little pocket book is a visual treasure and a keepsake.

[Erik]

You don’t really understand how color works and neither do I. This is a great, tidy reference—I’ve owned it for a couple weeks now and I think I’ll always keep it close for both printmaking and graphic design work (I was pleasantly surprised to find CMYK values for each swatch in the back of this book).

[Petra]

Beautiful insight into Japanese perceptions of colour combinations as well as inspiration for reinventing ones style and sense of self

[Hilly]

Performatively read this at the thrift but then actually use the color combos in here so it isn’t performative anymore

[Marta VM]

Aquest llibre m’ha canviat la vida. Ahir vaig llegir a Elle Germany (SNOB MOMENT!!!) que Miuccia Prada l’utilitza per inspirar-se i mira té sentit. Jo l’utilitzo per dissenyar webs encara que siguin colors en cmyk me da igual tot tot tot queda bé. L’utilitzaria per vestir també si no fos perquè tot el que tinc es beige o negre.

[Cleym]

Une très belle introduction à l’harmonie des couleurs. Et j’adore l’idée de la dernière partie avec ses couleurs à découper pour créer de nouvelles harmonies.
Un petit bijou à garder à portée de mains pour le consulter régulièrement.

[Ori]

"tia, a mi este libro me ha cambiado"

[LeeTravelGoddess]

Necessary!

[Claudia Solari]

Quien me conoce bien, sabe perfectamente que este libro siempre siempre me acompaña allá donde vaya

[Jamie Parsons]

Interior design flex soon come

[sarah]

Libro sobre teoría de color. Muy interesante y bonito 5 estrellitas

[laya]

perfecto.

[yln bht]

j’ai trop kiffey ce petit livre si avec ça je m’habille pas comme sabrina dans scooby doo je comprends plus

[Carson Davis]

Perfect little pocket book, but one must understand that it is just an endless collection of color swatches. I'd give it five stars, except they've made it very difficult to look up your favorite swatches in the index, and they could easily have put the RGB or HEX values on the actual page where the swatches appear.

[Jake swede]

So here's the thing, this book is almost entirely in Japanese (which I can't read). But that doesn't actually matter. This book is full of helpful color palette combinations presented in a way that requires no textual understanding. If you are someone who has work or hobbies that involve color combinations then I strongly recommend you pick this book up as a handy reference guide. As someone who paints and makes a million slideshows each year this book is extremely helpful in quickly finding impactful color combinations that drastically improve the quality and efficiency of my work. This is the kind of book that everyone should have on their shelf.

[Philip Froloshky]

Sanzo Wada was a painter, a teacher, and an Oscar-winning costume designer. He played a key role in developing Japan’s national color system, and his book, A Dictionary of Color Combinations, was his way of passing on a refined sense of aesthetic judgment.

Inside, you’ll find hundreds of timeless color palettes – perfect for inspiring visually appealing social media posts, presentations or why not stylish outfits.

It’s a powerful, time-saving tool, and I definitely plan to make the most of it.

[Melita]

Like the book and the paper, feels very much easy to use and not precious! Like a reference book. I couldn’t read the japanese so put it into ChatGPT, but seriously nothing much in the text. Only history of the author where you can google and how to use the book. In a way, you can read it once and forget all about it. So really nothing to lose in the Japanese text even if you can’t read it. The most important thing is the color references. It even comes with color chips!!!!! Pleasantly surprised!!! Will be very expensive if I bought it from pantone or any color swatch book

[Hedwig]

Dit is werkelijk een fantastisch boek! Heb ik het gelezen? Nou nee, vooral gekeken want het bevat 17 pagina’s tekst in het Japans en verder - en dat is het belangrijkste - 348 kleuren combinaties. Het is gebaseerd op een werk uit 1933/34 waarin puur door naar de natuur te kijken deze combinaties - met twee, drie, vier of meer kleuren - zijn gemaakt. Het is een prachtig uitgevoerd klein boekje. Is het valsspelen hier? Misschien… maar een aanrader is het zeker. Zo wonderschoon.

[⋆｡˚꒰ঌ worm ໒꒱˚｡⋆]

A Dictionary of Color Combinations (both vol. 1 & 2) are some of my favorite purchases by far. Not only are they just very intriguing, but they are my go-to for getting ideas for any artwork or fabric/yarn work that I plan on making. Not only does it show nice color combinations, it also demonstrates them being used practically- which has been a huge help!

Highly recommend having these in your personal collection if you're an artist :)

[Lucy]

This is a useful reference book of color combinations (2, 3, and 4 colors). Never mind the language barrier, it is easy enough to figure out. The book itself is lovely! A small 4"x5.75" compact paperback with thick high quality pages. It is so useful for anything from wardrobe coordinating to interior design to selecting colors when planning out a painting or other piece of art. I love it.

[Dirk Leopold]

it feels like cheating to add this book here because it basically doesn't have text (there are a few pages, but they didn't translate it), but I went through all the pages and I use it relatively often (not all the time because I like to have the freedom of committing mistakes).
Anyway, I like it, and the process of finding clothes that match the color palettes is pretty fun.

[Comely]

A very useful and fun reference for color theory that isn't too American or Eurocentric. It even has hex code for the colors and I assume color cutouts at the end of the book. Also pocket sized to carry around on the go.

[M Roberts]

Great source for inspiration and learning

[Sarah]

lovely book that would benefit only from being bigger.

[Brandon Woodward]

A super simple but incredibly well put together book of color combinations. I love the attention to detail that went into the book’s construction!

[Books reader]

This book is wild. I cannot speak Japanese.

[Ann]

Great visual reference to select starting points for color exploration.