Inspiration in the color wisteria.
Learn the history and meaning of the color wisteria, a light violet as ornamental as its namesake.
How to use wisteria color.
A little innocence goes a long way.
Nostalgia enhanced with wisteria.
Wisteria also symbolizes love and romance.
Wisteria color can be used in abundance.
Information about wisteria color.
The wisteria HEX code picker is #BDB5D5. This color matches the pale violet of wisteria’s namesake, the wisteria flower.
Wisteria color can be achieved in a RGB space with 189 red, 181 green, and 213 blue. The color wisteria can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 25% cyan, 27% magenta, 2% yellow, and 0% black.
What is the meaning of the color wisteria?
Wisteria is a light violet color. The color wisteria is named after the wisteria flower. Native to Japan, wisteria is an ornamental bloom that climbs and ravels in abundance. The color wisteria shares many qualities with its namesake. Wisteria color is delicate yet plush, and it suggests soft elegance.
The wisteria flower is symbolic of sophistication. Wisteria color offers the same opulence.
The history of wisteria color.
Wisteria in Japan and its frequent use in mon.
The wisteria flower is found in a few colors. The color wisteria, though, comes from the wisteria flower native to Japan. For centuries, wisteria — the flower and the color — was used in Japanese art. Wisteria was commonly found in mon (emblems to decorate or identify a family). It was especially popular between 700 and 1100. Because wisteria blooms were highly admired, so too was the color wisteria.
Social influence from Japanese actors in shades of wisteria.
For a long time, wearing bright colors was forbidden for the commoners in Japan. Vivid garments were associated with royalty, religious leadership, and other influential people. Leading up to the Edo period in Japan (1603 – 1867), kabuki actors were considered influencers of local fashion. One Edo actor, Danjuro Ichikawa, famously wore a wisteria color headband in a play called the Flower of Edo. The color wisteria became popular among citizens after that.
The color wisteria was then named in the West.
A 19th century American botanist named Thomas Nuttall named the Japanese flower “wisteria” in English after a physician friend, Caspar Wistar. Wisteria had just arrived in Europe and the Americas from the East. In his studies, Nuttall learned about the ornate Japanese flower and had the opportunity to name it. The name wisteria was used to describe the flower’s color soon after that. Wisteria color is used to depict the soft violet shade of the lavish bloom.
The color wisteria across different cultures.
Symbolism in Ancient Japan and China.
The wisteria flower carries symbolism that was important in Ancient Japan and Ancient China. In both societies, artworks like woodblock prints and tapestries showcased abundant wisteria to illustrate prosperity. The flower and the color wisteria were considered symbolic of sophistication, wisdom, and long life.
Wisteria color is named after the Japanese wisteria, but there are other wisterias in the world.
Japanese wisteria flashes its pale violet with an underlying cool blue hue. The flowers warm ever so slightly with the characteristic little yellow centers. This flower is what inspired the name of the color wisteria. Elsewhere in Asia, there are 10 other native species of wisteria. Other wisteria flowers bloom in white and pink. The flower only made its way to Europe in the early 1800s.
In the West, wisteria also made its way into art.
Wisteria color became a popular pigment in tiles and stained glass in Europe in the 1800s. Often, the color wisteria was used to depict the wisteria flower or other light violet blooms. The color wisteria is an easily diluted pigment and can be used in abundance. Wisteria color became popular in realism artworks into the 20th century.