Taccia are making a series of inks based on Japanese Ukiyo-e artists and selections of their works. The current two series are based on four works from Hukusai Katsushika (this series) which are predominantly landscape works and the other series (which you can view here) is on four works from Sharaku Tōshūsai which are portrait works. The inks take inspiration from specific colours in each of the works. Taccia has plans to expand the series of Ukiyo-e inspired inks.

Thanks to Desk Bandit for generously providing samples of 6 of these inks. I purchased bottles of Koiai and Sabimidori from Desk Bandit.

Images of the artwork provided by Taccia

The artwork by Hokusai Katsushika is what I, and I expect many, first think of when thinking about old Japanese art. There have to be few artworks from Japan as famous as “Mount Fuji Seen Below a Wave at Kanagawa”! All four of the artworks are from Hokusai’s “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)” series.

Ukiyo-e prints are woodblock prints where a publisher commissions, and promotes a work from an artist which is then carved into wood by woodworkers, and pressed onto paper by printers. This printing process, and the possibilities for variation at the printing end of the process explains why there are different images of the artworks available with some different colours as well.

Taccia describe the inks as follows:

Swatches on original 52gsm Ivory (white) Tomoe River

The Ukiyo-e is a Japanese printing established in the Edo-period(17th century) to feature the life style, trend and play by the people of the time.
Those colors used for Ukiyo-e are too delicate to be expressed in a single word.
Our product Ukiyo-e ink reproduce these colors and will expand your enjoyment of drawing with fountain pens.
The first 4 colors each are released as Hokusai and Sharaku collection.
All inks are made of safe raw materials and all colors were supervised by the color consultant in Japan.
These ink collections were also produced by the stationery expert and manufactured by our factory.
Next Ukiyo-e collection coming soon.

The Hokusai series are a mostly cooler series, especially compared to the Sharaku-based series. Interestingly lacking from both series is a green ink. Maybe next time?

When I first looked at these inks I assumed I had a few inks that would match pretty closely but I actually didn’t have many. They are mostly noticeably different and importantly, depending on the paper, they can change colour quote a bit. In general Tomoe River is lighter and slightly less saturated but Rhodia is darker and more saturated with a different hue sometimes.

Hokusai - South Wind at Clear Dawn (Gaifu kaisei)

The first ink, Benitsuchi, in the Hokusai based on “South Wind at Clear Dawn (Gaifu kaisei)”. Clearly the dark orange ink has been taken from the colour of dawn light hitting the side oy Mount Fuji.

Minireview on original 52gsm Ivory (white) Tomoe River

Benitsuchi is a dark rich orange with some brown. On Tomoe River it is a little lighter and more yellow. The shading is decently strong and contrasting with a relatively smooth gradient. The ink is wet and smooth with no bleeding or feathering. The dry time is on the slow time with limited water resistance. The chromatography starts with a blue-grey line that progresses to an orange before finishing with a strong red.

The closest ink compared in terms of colour on Tomoe River would be Noodler’s The Alamo’s Twilight which is a little darker but a similar, if redder, hue. Noodler’s Antietam and Diamine Monaco Red are too red and desaturated.

Sheen, writing, on Tomoe River

Sheen Tomoe River

The sheen is a moderate silver sheen that is visible on almost all writing on Tomoe River. It isn’t strong but it will catch the light.

Sheen comparison on original 52gsm Ivory (white) Tomoe River

Only Noodler’s The Alamo’s Twilight has any sheen and its a dull copper. The other two have a grey matte sheen, if you call it a sheen. Antietam decided not to dry in time!

On Rhodia, Benitsuchi is much redder and more more saturated and also a little darker. The contrast isn’t as strong as it was on Tomoe River but water resistance is better and the dry time is also on the slower side. There is no feathering or bleeding.

Diamine Monaco is a little closer this time but is still too red and a little desaturated. The Alamo’s Twilight is much too desaturated.

Sheen, writing, Rhodia

Sheen Rhodia

There is limited silver sheen on Rhodia but practically none.

Similarly none of the compared inks have any sheen.

Hokusai - Mount Fuji Seen Below a Wave at Kanagawa

The second ink in the Hokusai series is Koiai with the rich dark blue coming from the waves of “Mount Fuji Seen Below a Wave at Kanagawa”.

Koiai is a rich dark blue. It isn’t a blue black because it is still heavily saturated; just dark. While definitely still a blue colour it also leans definitively teal. The The shading has strong contrast but there is much more dark than light and the gradient is slightly sudden. The ink is very wet and smooth with no bleeding or feathering. Dry time is surprisingly quicker than Benitsuchi; a little slow but not too bad for Tomoe River. Water resistance isn’t bad either. Chromatography starts with a blue leaning grey leading to a lightly saturated purple going to a very dark blue and ending with a splash of vibrant azure.

Colorverse Extra Dimension is a similar hue but darker. Pen + Message Vintage Denim is a similar darkness but a little bluer. Kobe #38 is a similar hue and darkness (though a little darker) but a little desaturated. They are all different but not that much so.

Sheen, writing, on Tomoe River

Sheen Tomoe River

The sheen is a very strong copper colour. It leans a little pink but still has some yellow warmth. It is present almost everywhere. This is a very strong sheener; not quite a supersheener which I prefer because you can still see the ink colour below.

Extra Dimension is the only sheen that’s really comparable. It’s still a little pinker and desaturated. Both Vintage Demin and #38 are almost dirty pink tinged silver sheens but both also have the dual green sheen.

On Rhodia Koiai is fairly similar to how it presents on Tomoe River. It is a little darker however and the shading is much less pronounced. The water resistances is stronger and the the dry time is pretty decent.

The comparison inks also present with similarly different characteristics as they did on Tomoe River.

Sheen, writing, Rhodia

Sheen Rhodia

Sheen with Rhodia is relatively hard to come by. I expected this ink to not present with sheen on Rhodia but it does a pretty good job of showing even on the Extra Fine nib! Very nice indeed. The sheen isn’t as saturated as it is on Tomoe River.

There’s essentially no sheen on any of the comparison inks. Only Kobe #38 presents with a hint of it in the swatch.

Hokusai - The Fields of Sekiya by the Sumida River

Number three is Sabimidori with the teal colour coming from the foliage of the trees (or perhaps the grass or the various horse straps) from “The Fields of Sekiya by the Sumida River”.

Sabimidori is a moderately saturated teal ink which, in the swatch, moves from more green to more blue depending on where you look - some dichromatism. In the written line the blue comes through a lot more, however. The shading is rather subtle and with a smooth gradient. Water resistances is a bit smudgy but not bad and the dry time is decent. The ink is quite wet to write with and is very smooth and there is not feathering or bleeding. The chromatography, running right to left, starts with a light blue/teal moving to a cool blue before a darker warm green and ending with a splash of azure.

Organics Studio Emerald City Green is lighter and much greener. Sailor Ink Studio 964 is darker and noticeably greener. Iroshizuku Syo-ro is a little bluer and quite a bit more saturated.

Sheen, writing, on Tomoe River

Sheen Tomoe River

Along with Koiai, Sabimidori is the other high sheening ink for either of the Ukiyo-e series. The sheen here is a strong brass colour and is present almost everywhere. It isn’t quite as strong as Koiai but still strong.

Emerald City Green presents with a subtle silver sheen on the swatch which isn’t similar. Ink Studio 964 is a moderate saturation pink sheen which is again not very similar. Kyo-ro is a coppery sheen; more red in it compared with Sabimidori but the closest of the three.

On Rhodia the ink becomes much more green and also loses some saturation. The shading does get a slight boost. There is no feathering or bleeding. The water resistance goes quite blue but isn’t too bad! The daytime is somewhat average for Rhodia.

Emerald City Green is much lighter and still a little too green but not as far out on Rhodia. Ink Studio 964 is too dark and green still. Kyo-ro is much too saturated and a little too green.

Sheen, writing, Rhodia

Sheen Rhodia

Again, like with Koiai, there is a lovely amount o brass sheen on the writing. A lovely surprise for Rhodia!

There is essentially no sheen for the comparison inks.

Hokusai - Kajikazawa in Kai Province (Koshu Kajikazawa)

The final ink in the Taccia Hokusai series is Fukakihanada based on “Kajikazawa in Kai Province (Koshu Kajikazawa)”.

Fukakihanada is a bit of a dusty light blue. It leans a little towards the teal but not strongly. It is a moderately saturated ink. The shading is rather weak with this on and the ink is relatively flat. The ink isn’t as wet as the other two blue inks, Koiai and Sabimidori , but it is wetter than moderately wet. There is no feathering or bleeding. The water resistance is not bad but it does loose all colour. Dry time is pretty slow! The chromatography has a grey line that moves to a lightly saturated purple before returning to a grey. It then suddenly moves to a light blue that gradually darkens.

Robert Oster Frankly Blue is darker and more saturated and a touch greener. Sailor Ink Studio 240 is lighter, less saturated and bluer (as well as having some pink dichromatism). Robert Oster Bass Straight is fairly similar but a touch darker and more saturated.

Sheen, writing, on Tomoe River

Sheen Tomoe River

Fukakuhanada has some sheen and it is present on the wetter of the written lines but it is very subtle and you definitely have to look for it with the right light at the right angle! It’s a lower saturated darker red sheen.

Frankly Blue is a vibrant red sheen and much stronger. Ink Studio 240 is extremely limited sheen. Mostly silver with a hint of pink and only really in the swatch. Bass Straight is again the closest here with a subtle lightly saturated and darker pink red sheen.

On Rhodia the ink becomes more saturated, darker and a touch more green leaning. The shading is still rather passive and there is still not bleeding or feathering. Water resistance is very strong on Rhodia and dry time is rather normal.

Frankly Blue is fairly similar now! Ink Studio 240 is still too blue. Bass Straight is similar still but a little desaturated.

Sheen, writing, Rhodia

Sheen Rhodia

As expected there is no sheen on Rhodia.

The lack of sheen continues with the comparison inks.

The boxes for these inks are pretty large given the 40ml size of the ink and the correspondingly smaller bottle sizes. However, it shows off the artwork more so there isn’t too much to complain about! There’s a lovely aesthetic about all of these inks.

There are two lovely sheening inks in this that even sheen on Rhodia. The inks all perform really well on paper and out of the nib. I was very pleased with the inks I purchased. The first release of Taccia inks I found interesting but unadventurous, these sets I was very interested in when I first saw them. The Lip Color and the Jeans inks are also pretty interesting. I look forward to what Taccia do with expanding this Ukiyo-e series.

Check out the overview of the other Ukiyo-e series based on Sharaku Tōshūsai here!

Thank you again to Desk Bandit for sending samples of these inks for review!

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I received some of these stationery items free of charge for the purpose of giving an honest review. Some of these stationery items I bought myself. I was not otherwise compensated and everything here is my own honest opinion. There are no affiliate links. Nota bene: Desk Bandit are also a sponsor of this blog.

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Ink Overview: Taccia Ukiyo-e Hokusai Katsushika inks (Benitsuchi, Koiai, Sabimidori, and Fukakihanada)