Kyo No Oto Sakuranezumi Ink: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Kyo No Oto inks are made in Kyoto, Japan. Also known as Takeda Jimuki or TAG, the inks in this collection are meant to evoke colors from the beautiful city of Kyoto.

Sakuranezumi is a purple-grey color inspired by cherry blossoms beneath grey, cloudy skies. Literally, the words "sakura" and "nezumi" mean "cherry blossom mouse," which just makes me so happy. I mean, these days, it's the little things, am I right?

The ink comes in a 40ml glass bottle curved on the sides and flat in the front and back. The bottle is tall enough to ink large nibs (unlike the flat, round Sailor bottles that drive me crazy).

This dusky-grey purple is, in a word, glorious. On the Col-o-dex card, you can see the various shades of the ink in the swab and the green sheen in the splats.

Sakuranezumi is especially pretty on white Rhodia paper. I used my Leonardo Furore with a 14k 1.3 stub nib to test the ink. It displays excellent shading and is saturated enough to work well in all nib sizes. The ink is fairly wet, drying completely after about 35 seconds. It is not waterproof.

Chromatography displays the complexity of this ink. It contains multiple colors which make for the rich purple-grey when combined.

The ink is lovely in extra-wide nibs (such as my Handwritmic ruling nib), demonstrating shading, sheen, and deep pools of color.

I used my MD Notebook Journal to practice calligraphy and to write a long passage out with the Leonardo stub. This ink looks extra nice on cream-colored paper.

I looked through all my purple ink swatches, and none of them was similar to Sakuranezumi. I'm sure there are probably similar inks, but to my great delight, I don't own them. I love it when I find an ink that is unlike any in my collection.

You can purchase Kyo-no-oto Sakuranezumi from Jet Pens for $22.00 (for a 40ml bottle). Yes, this is a higher priced ink, but if you love moody colors with lots of character, it's totally worth it.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 426 - When Am I Gonna Get One?

Volume XIX, via Blackwing

One of the great thrills of my existence is the ability to hold the shipment of Myke’s goods over Myke’s head. It gives me life! Myke is not so much of a fan, as we find out this episode. We also discuss the Pirate’s Life, XIX, and doing good business.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Kanilea Pen Co: Choose Your Aloha today!

Kenro Industries: Announcing the new JR Pocket Pen.

Kawachiya Paper Lab Kamon Letterpress Notebook A5

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

It's such a great thing when good notebooks are also pretty. These Kawachiya Paper Lab Kamon designs (Japanese house crests) are so gorgeous. They are crisply letter-pressed into matcha green cardstock with a slight texture to it, which makes the whole book wonderfully tactile. The pressing can even be felt on the inside of the cover. It makes a fantastic first impression, so I was excited to try the paper.

Under that stunning cover are 64 pages of cream-colored dot grid paper. It feels like a heavy gsm, though I can't find the exact specs. In weight, crispness, and texture it reminds me a lot of Midori MD paper, maybe slightly smoother--closer to a heavy Tomoe River. The dots are dark grey and more pronounced than in some notebooks, so they don't fade into the background much, but do serve as excellent guides.

The pages are staple-bound with two brass staples. That does leave the top and bottom edges loose, which isn't an ideal structure as far as durability goes. But the minimal binding does help train the notebook to lay flat easily once the crease is smoothed.

The paper itself performs very well. Even a wet, bold fountain pen line with black ink has zero show-through. Magic! The only thing to defeat this paper, as usual, is the Sharpie. Pencil users might find this paper a little bit too smooth for harder leads.

Slim A5 notebooks with great paper aren't as rare as they were a few years ago. Once upon a time, that was quite difficult to find! Now they're everywhere, and it take a bit extra for new ones to stand out. I think this lovely letter-pressed design is a total standout. The perfect, tiny details are charming and beautiful. At $14, though, it is more than twice the cost of a similar Clairefontaine notebook. I think it's worth it for its handcrafted cover, but it's not something I'd buy in bulk, even if all the available colors are lovely. As a special treat, though, it's great.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!