Pilot Namiki Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Bottle Ink

So much ink and so little time .Not fair.
Seventeen colors from a single manufacturer, that’s a lot of ink . I wish I could use every color with my Namiki Vanishing Point Fountain Pen (Broad Point). Slowly, I will fulfill that wish but right now I tried a few colors that looked very appealing to me.
So I started my quest of filling the so called Pilot Namiki Iroshizuku Ink Bottle to know what the buzz is all about.. First I filled the pen with tsukushi(Field HorseTail) . This is a Reddish Dark Brown colored ink . Namiki Vanishing point Fountain Pen comes with converter . Now the best part about a converter with a nib is that we can have different converter filled with different colored ink and that helps to avoid cleaning the nib when you want to change the color of ink. Hats off to Pilot Namiki to bring in this technology which helps fountain pen lovers to try different color without having to undergo the pain of cleaning the nibs. I started to write in my to-do lists of Filofax Finchley Filled Organizer Pocket Size Black

The drying time of the ink is little high when compared to other inks. But again that depends also on the paper used. On the filofax organizer paper ,it took around 3-4 seconds to dry and on an ordinary white paper,it took lesser time to dry.
These luxurious line of ink from Pilot Namiki were created to reflect the beautiful natural scenary of Japan ,different local flowers and fruit. The bottle is truly gorgeous and will fill your fountain pen with different colors for different season.Try Winter with Old Man Winter (fuyu-syogun) ,summer with Deep Cerulean Blue or Sunset (yu-yake) and Fall with Autumn Shower (kiri-same) or Autumn Leaves (momiji)
1) Tsuki-yo Night Sky (Greenish Deep Blue) would compare it to the Blue-Black Color . It contains more Green to be called a genuine blue-black.It has a moon-ish color . (“tsuki” means moon ).
2) Tsukushi Field Horsetail - This is the ink that matches the color of my Namiki Vanishing Point Fountain Pen.It is nice chocolate based brown and there is bit of reddishness in the color.Its based on a grass named horsetail which is basically green in color .But the color which Pilot thought about when making the ink was dried horsetail.( I don’t know…iam just guessing it wild(weed?))
3) Asa-gao Morning Glory (Vivid Purplish Blue) . The first color that came in my mind when I saw it was the the J. Herbin's Eclat de Saphir. I put 3 drops on a J Herbin Blotting Paper

One observation of the ink is that it is not as viscous as J Herbin ink.
The color is based on the flower Morning Glory found in Japan . This flower was introduced to the Japanese in the 9th century, and they were first to cultivate it as an ornament

4) Tsuyu-kusa Asiatic Dayflower
Based on the flower shown below .It is considered to be in the weed family but is also consumed as leaf vegetable in Japan and other countries in Southeast Asia.

5) Ajisai Hydrangea – this shade of blue is reminiscent of the image of raindrops nestling on its petals.

The color of this ink is based on the flower Hydrangea which blooms during early spring to late autumn .There are many varieties of this flower with different colors.Out of that the following varieties are found in Japan Hydrangea hirta, Hydrangea involucrata, Hydrangea macrophylla and Hydrangea serrata. Hydrangea is a common flower in China than Japan.
6) Kon-peki - Deep Cerulean Blue - expresses the color of a vast and clear summer sky.

7) ku-jaku Peacock – a green color which evokes visions of the stark and vivid feathers of the richly multicolored peacock.

8) Yama Budo Crimson Glory Vine – this red embodies the bright and ripe fruit of the wild, yet subdued crimson glory vine. I wish they made wine with this vine. The fruit resemble red grapes..but it is not red grape.The color is an exact match to red wine.

9) Tsutsuji - Azalea – a red hue like the common red amongst the myriad hues of the Azalea flowers.
Are you a Sagittarian? This ink may bring you luck. The color of the ink is based on the flower Azalea which is the flower for astrology symbol Sagittarius.
Amazing snap of Azalea in mountainous region of Japan.


10) Yu-yake Sunset – an orange hue like sky, painted by the evening sunset on clear day.
There are no more apt words to describe sunset than the poem by Victor Hugo
Synopsis of the poem
I love the evenings, passionless and fair, I love the evens,
Whether old manor-fronts their ray with golden fulgence leavens,
In numerous leafage bosomed close;
Whether the mist in reefs of fire extend its reaches sheer,
Or a hundred sunbeams splinter in an azure atmosphere
On cloudy archipelagos…………..
All vanishes! The Sun, from topmost heaven precipitated,
Like a globe of iron which is tossed back fiery red
Into the furnace stirred to fume,
Shocking the cloudy surges, plashed from its impetuous ire,
Even to the zenith spattereth in a flecking scud of fire
The vaporous and inflamèd spaume.

Caran D Ache “Colors of the Earth” Ink Bottle with Saffron color is very much similar to the color of Yu-yake.If you are a color freak,this one should find a place in the collection .



This is the second color that iam testing on Blotting Paper . If you look closely into the ink of Pilot,it looks like it is more watery than other inks. This may be the reason why Pilot Namiki’s ink is more smoother while writing.
11) yama-guri Wild Chestnut – a brown color similar to the image of a ripe, fallen chestnut shell during the longing season of autumn.

12) fuyu-gaki Winter Persimmon –The color of this ink is based on an orange similar to the shade of a lusciously ripe persimmon.

Now there is an interesting fact about Winter Persimmon. According to folklore (which means it hasn't been scientific proven, or disproved), the severity of approaching winter can be cutting open a persimmon seed and looking at the shape of the kernel inside. Hold the seed carefully with a pair of needled-nose pliers and use a paring knife to slice it open.
If the kernel is spoon-shaped, lots of heavy, wet snow is forecasted.
If the kernel is fork-shaped, powdery light snow and a mild winter is predicted.
If the kernel is knife-shaped, bitter icy cutting winds for next few months will occur.
It is recommended to cut at least ten seeds to determine the outcome of the kernel shape.
Iam glad that Pilot had one color which is based on Edible fruit.

13) syo-ro Dew on Pine – a green shade similar to a dewdrop reflecting pine needles.
14) shin-ryoku Forest Green – embodies the unchanging color of a dense evergreen forest in a long winter.
15) kiri-same Autumn Shower – a grey shade like a landscape expectant of winter.
16) fuyu-syogun -Old Man Winter – a grey conjuring up the image of the cold, clear air of the severe winter season.
17) Shin-ryoku –Deep Green – The inks are based on the flower and the natural beauty of Japan. So this ink
The bottle is cleverly done. It’s pretty tall and narrow .It holds 50ml of ink. The opening of the bottle is also quite wide for bigger pens to be dipped or filled. There is an triangle shaped depression in the bottom of the bottle (as shown in image below) which allows us to enjoy the last drop of ink(afterall we need to get that last drop as the ink is not cheap)

Colors are saturated and lubricated
In short this can be rated as one of the most beautiful ink ever produced (I know lots of MontBlanc ,Aurora or J Herbin ink lovers would be raising their eyebrow on this comment, at least the bottle deserves credit..come on) .The ink costs $35 a piece but we give a 20% discount and sell it for $28. Just for today/tomorrow ie October 15th 2010,for the agony of reaching until here reading my blog,I am giving additional $3 off using coupon code JAPAN3 at checkout.
Well..that’s a lot of writing and in the end , like the ink or not..I think I started liking Japanese..:)