Taccia Ukiyo-e Fountain Pen Ink Asahanada - Sky Blue

Asahanada literally means "sky blue" — and the ink lives up to that name: a muted, dusty blue with a gentle grey undertone, that appears soft and airy in handwriting. The Taccia Ukiyo-e series translates the colour palette of Japanese woodblock prints from the Edo period into water-based fountain pen ink, colour-matched and overseen by Japanese colour consultant Hanae Matsumoto. Asahanada belongs to the Hiroshige collection and is inspired by the blue tone that recurs so characteristically in Hiroshige's prints that it became known as "Hiroshige Blue".

Features

• Colour character: pale, pastel blue with delicate grey note — not cold and sterile, but muted and atmospheric, like the sky over an Edo rooftop shortly after sunrise
• Water-based fountain pen ink with moderate flow — suitable for fine to medium nibs; on permanent ink paper with smooth finish, the ink reveals its full colour spectrum with subtle shading
• Good flow without over-saturation: the moderate moisture level is gentle on nibs and keeps the line crisp
• Not archival — suitable for journals, sketches and correspondence, not for permanent documents
• 40 ml in wide-mouth bottle: the broad opening allows comfortable dipping of even larger piston fillers
• Illustrated packaging: the box features the ukiyo-e motif "Kanda Kon'ya-cho" (dyers' quarter in Kanda) by Hiroshige — the packaging is itself a print
• All colours in the ukiyo-e line were approved by a Japanese colour consultant; the collection is manufactured in Japan

Use & Tips

• On Tomoe River paper (in the LUIBAN range) Asahanada unfolds its delicate shading beautifully — the smooth, low-absorbency surface allows the colour nuances to stand out
• With a stub nib or flexible nib, visible colour gradations appear in the stroke variation, ranging from pale ice blue to a warmer grey-violet
• Fine to medium nibs produce a legible, pale line — ideal for handwritten letters, journalling or marginalia in notebooks
• The ink is also suitable for drawing with the fountain pen: light washes created by water on paper produce soft tonal gradations reminiscent of watercolour washes
• Drying time on smooth, calendered paper is approximately 30–50 seconds with a medium nib — on more absorbent paper it dries noticeably faster
• The wide-mouth bottle is excellent for calligraphy brushes: the broad opening allows direct dipping without dripping

For Ink Enthusiasts

The Taccia Ukiyo-e series is divided into four artist subgroups: Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro and Sharaku — each colour is derived from a specific print, not from a general mood. Asahanada is derived from the blue tone of the dyed cloth in the foreground of Hiroshige's print "The Dyers' Quarter in Kanda". This yields a colour tone that is less saturated than a classical royal blue, but also less green than a pure aqua: a quiet, introspective blue with medium saturation and a grey component that becomes visible on heavy paper. On Tomoe River there is virtually no sheen; the water resistance is surprisingly solid for a pale ink.

Technical Specifications