Colour news
FestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom’s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For SaleCraft and textilesBalenciaga Spring/Summer2027 Runway Dips Into ColourFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom’s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For SaleCraft and textilesBalenciaga Spring/Summer2027 Runway Dips Into Colour
Rang

Next: 25 Mar to 7 Apr 2027

Hanami

Picnics under clouds of pale pink cherry blossom, with dumplings in pink, white and green. The dates move with the weather.

Photo: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The colours of Hanami

Hanami means flower viewing. When the cherry trees open, friends, families and whole offices spread sheets under them and eat and drink. The blossom of the commonest tree, the Somei Yoshino, is so pale a pink that it is nearly white, and it lasts only a week or so before falling. That shortness is the heart of the custom: the flowers are loved because they do not stay. The season moves north through Japan from late March to early May, so the dates given here are only those around Tokyo in a usual year. Shops sell sakura-flavoured sweets in pink, and hanami dango, three dumplings on a stick in pink, white and green. At night the trees are lit with lanterns.

#F9D5DCSakura pinkThe almost-white pink of Somei Yoshino petals.
#F2A0B4Dango pinkThe top dumpling on the stick.
#A8C97FDango greenThe mugwort dumpling: new leaves.
#9CC7E8Spring skyThe blue seen through the branches.

Values are fair approximations, not official shades.

Read about the colours

PinkCherry blossom.WhiteThe petals are close to white.

Also part of it, and being written: Shades of pink (Includes cherry blossom pink.).

More colours tied to Hanami

#FFB7C5 Cherry blossom pink A soft pink inspired by cherry tree blossoms, cherished in Japan and beyondNamed shade · 🇯🇵 Japan +2
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Hanami" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.