Shinbashi Color

Meiji Era Trend, Bright and Modern

HEX#5CB5AA

RGBrgb(92, 181, 170)

HSLhsl(173, 38%, 54%)

HSVhsv(173, 49%, 71%)

CMYKcmyk(49%, 0%, 6%, 29%)

HEXA#5CB5AAFF

RGBArgba(92, 181, 170, 1)

HSLAhsla(173, 38%, 54%, 1)

OKLCHoklch(85.1%, 0.059, 188)

LCHlch(83.6%, 27.6, 197)

🎨 Color Palettes

Analogous2-3 adjacent hues (≤60°)

Triadic3 hues spaced 120° apart

Split ComplementaryMain color + colors adjacent to its complement

Complementary2 hues spaced 180° apart

Tetradic (Rectangle)4 hues forming a rectangle

MonochromaticSingle hue with varying saturation and lightness

♿ WCAG Contrast Colors

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Aa14px Body

High Contrast Text

#FBFDFDRatio 2.4:1Fail

Suitable for body text, headings, and primary content, ensuring readability for all users

Aa14px Body

Standard Text

#FBFDFDRatio 2.4:1Fail

Suitable for regular body content, meeting WCAG AA standards

Aa14px Body

Large Text / UI Components

#FBFCFDRatio 2.4:1Fail

Suitable for large text (≥18px bold or ≥24px), icons, UI component boundaries

Aa14px Body

Decorative / Dividers

#F1E3F2Ratio 2:1Fail

Suitable for decorative elements, dividers, non-essential text

📊 Color Scales

Online Color Picker → Gradient Generator →

Lightness VariationFixed hue and saturation, stepwise lightness adjustment ±30%

#26544F

#367870

#469B91

#5DB6AC

#80C6BE

#A4D6D0

#C7E6E2

Saturation VariationFixed hue and lightness, stepwise saturation adjustment ±30%

#7E9593

#759F9A

#69ABA3

#5DB6AC

#51C2B5

#46CEBE

#3AD9C7

Lightness + Saturation Mixed VariationSimultaneous lightness and saturation adjustment

#3D5754

#487570

#50958D

#5CB2A8

#72C5BC

#8AD6CD

#A5E4DD

Hue Fine-TuningFixed saturation and lightness, stepwise hue fine-tuning ±15°

#5DB696

#5DB69D

#5DB6A4

#5DB6AC

#5DB6B3

#5DB2B6

#5DAAB6

💡 Use Cases

☕

Kissaten Decor

Shinbashi Color is commonly seen on the walls and signs of Showa-style kissaten. Paired with wood tones and warm yellow lighting, it creates a nostalgic yet modern urban leisure atmosphere.

🎒

School Backpacks

Shinbashi Color is a common choice for the traditional hakama and backpacks of Japanese female students. Bright and refined, it suits the visual expression of school life and youthful memories.

🛍️

Brand Visuals

Shinbashi Color is ideal for the logos and packaging of youth-oriented brands, excelling at expressing fresh, lively, urbanized product identities with high recognizability.

📰

Retro Posters

In advertising and poster designs mimicking Meiji and Taisho styles, Shinbashi Color accurately conveys the era's character, blending historical sense with modern aesthetic interest.

📜 Origin & History

Shinbashi Color was born during Japan's Meiji period, a blue-green hue popular among the geishas of the Shinbashi district in Tokyo. As a licensed pleasure quarter and emerging commercial area, Shinbashi gathered the latest trends in fashion and dyeing techniques, hence the color's name.

After the Meiji Restoration, the massive influx of Western dyes into Japan expanded the traditional color spectrum with synthetic colors. Shinbashi Color, with its bright, vivid green-leaning cyan, distinguished itself from the more austere traditional cyans, quickly becoming a fashion symbol of the Civilization and Enlightenment era.

From the Taisho to early Showa periods, Shinbashi Color spread from the pleasure quarters to the general public, appearing in female students' hakama (trousers), Western-style umbrellas, hair accessories, and advertising posters. It symbolized the confident, open, and modern lifestyle of urban women.

In contemporary Japanese design, Shinbashi Color is often used as a representative retro-modern color, seen in kissaten (coffee shop) signs, Showa-style miscellaneous goods, and nostalgic graphic designs, continuing the bright spirit from a century ago.

🧠 Color Psychology

BrightnessShinbashi Color has high saturation and just the right amount of brightness, visually striking without being glaringly harsh. It can quickly elevate the ambient mood and dispel dullness.

VitalityIts hue possesses both the calmness of cyan and the growth energy of green, psychologically stimulating action and social enthusiasm, suitable for youthful and creative contexts.

FashionablenessSince its inception, Shinbashi Color has been tied to urban style, giving a psychological impression of novelty, avant-garde, and tastefulness, suitable for fashion products and spaces.

CheerfulnessShinbashi Color easily evokes a clear spring sky and sunlit shallow sea, dispelling melancholy and oppression, enhancing optimistic tendencies and improving social atmosphere.

ShowinessWith its relatively high saturation, Shinbashi Color might seem too jarring in traditional or conservative contexts, requiring pairing with neutral colors to balance its expressiveness.

Retro NostalgiaShinbashi Color carries the urban memory of the Meiji and Taisho eras. For audiences familiar with Japanese culture, it evokes a romantic and nostalgic Showa-era sentiment.

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