It enables the expression of such delicate neutral colors as 'futa-ai' (bluish purple obtained by dyeing with both deep red and indigo blue) and 'kobai' (color of reddish pink plum blossoms) which required complicated mixed dyeing, as well as kuchiba-iro (reddish yellow, literally, color of a dead and fallen leaf), moegi-iro (yellowish green, literally, color of a sprouting long green onion), miru-iro(blackish yellowish green, literally, color of miru, a kind of green algae) and asagi-iro(pale blue, literally, color of a thin blade of a long green onion).
複雑な交染めを必要とする「二藍」や「紅梅」さらには、朽葉色、萌黄色、海松色、浅葱色など、中間色の繊細な表現を可能とした。