The softest pink, near-white blossom, pale green of new leaves, and clear sky blue — the palette of a Japanese tradition of watching cherry blossoms fall.
Hanami — literally flower viewing — is the Japanese practice of gathering beneath cherry trees during their brief flowering, typically one to two weeks in late March or April. The practice is over a thousand years old, originally a court ritual and now a nationwide celebration in which families, friends, and colleagues spread picnic blankets under the trees and sit beneath the falling petals. The palette is extraordinarily delicate: the pale pink of the blossoms, ranging from near-white to a soft rose depending on the variety, against the clear blue of a spring sky. The green of the first leaves just beginning to emerge. The beauty of Hanami is inseparable from its brevity — the blossoms fall within days, and the palette disappears with them.
#d992ac
RGB(217, 146, 172) · hsl(338, 48%, 71%)
This light pink sits at the moderate end of its family.
Blithe Alabaster amid Flickering →#eecde3
RGB(238, 205, 227) · hsl(320, 50%, 87%)
moderate and very light — a pink that reads as open.
When Carefree Air out Frosting →#dfe5d6
RGB(223, 229, 214) · hsl(85, 23%, 87%)
A muted yellow-green: very light, considered, and steady.
Blithe Aura via Gracing →#a9cedf
RGB(169, 206, 223) · hsl(199, 46%, 77%)
A very light, moderate blue with a quiet presence.
What the Dazzling Bloom till Ensouling →#eec9cd
RGB(238, 201, 205) · hsl(354, 51%, 86%)
A moderate red: very light, considered, and steady.
The Blaze betwixt Unbounded Twinkling →:root { --hanami-1: #d992ac; --hanami-2: #eecde3; --hanami-3: #dfe5d6; --hanami-4: #a9cedf; --hanami-5: #eec9cd;}