{"title":"Kobe","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"nagasawa-kobe-ink-monogatari-yuhobika-blue-4ml-fountain-pen-ink-sample","title":"Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari Yuhobika Blue - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue:\u003c\/strong\u003e Officially a calm blue with a slight greenish tint. On my swatches it reads as a deeper, more muted teal-blue than “slight greenish tint” suggests, and in wetter strokes and pooled areas the heavy burgundy sheen can take over much of the colour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Moderate. The swab bar moves between lighter and deeper teal, though in heavier ink the sheen tends to take over before the shading does.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen:\u003c\/strong\u003e Heavy burgundy-red. It floods the pooled swabs, shows at the ends of the swab bar, and comes through in wetter written strokes. In finer, drier lines the teal dominates.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer:\u003c\/strong\u003e None.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow: \u003c\/strong\u003eMedium\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit:\u003c\/strong\u003e A special colour in Nagasawa’s Kobe INK Monogatari range, inspired by the historic coastal city of Akashi. “Yuhobika” is an archaic Japanese word for a relaxed, calm appearance. It was used to describe Akashi’s scenery in the Wakamurasaki chapter of The Tale of Genji. The box art is by Shin Tanaka, an Akashi-based painter who uses sand from the local sea as the base of his paintings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003cbr\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003cbr\u003eI’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kobe \/ Nagasawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57410945220934,"sku":null,"price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/Kobeyohubikablue3.jpg?v=1791752492"},{"product_id":"nagasawa-kobe-ink-monogatari-akashi-museum-gold-4ml-fountain-pen-ink-sample","title":"Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari Akashi Museum Gold - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue:\u003c\/strong\u003e Officially a heavy, greenish gold. On my swatches it reads as a dark olive green first and gold second: the gold comes through in the lighter parts of the stroke and the pale edges, while heavier writing and pools sit firmly in deep moss-olive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Good. There is clear light-to-dark variation in the swab bar and in writing, from khaki-gold through to dark olive where the ink pools at the ends of strokes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen:\u003c\/strong\u003e None in writing. Heavy pools develop a reddish-brown halo at the edges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer: \u003c\/strong\u003eNone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow: \u003c\/strong\u003eMedium\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit:\u003c\/strong\u003e A Kobe INK Monogatari special colour, made for the Akashi City Museum of Culture, which opened in 1991. The museum’s star exhibit is the “Akashi-zou”, an elephant fossil from a stratum around 2 million years old. That is the elephant on the box. The ink is meant to show Akashi’s fertile land, from the layer where the elephant lies to the present day. Akashi is also the city that Japan Standard Time’s meridian runs through.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003cbr\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003cbr\u003eI’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kobe \/ Nagasawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57410946171206,"sku":null,"price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/Kobeakashimuseumgold3.jpg?v=1791750936"},{"product_id":"nagasawa-kobe-ink-monogatari-150-purple-sepia-4ml-fountain-pen-ink-sample","title":"Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari 150 Purple Sepia - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue: \u003c\/strong\u003eOfficially a purple sepia. On my swatches the written line reads as a dark sepia-brown with a purple undertone. The purple shows more clearly in wider strokes and at the edges of pooled ink, where the ink splits into a warm orange-brown with plum-purple edges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Moderate in normal writing, stronger in wide strokes. The pooled swabs show heavy shading and clear chromatic separation into brown and purple.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen: \u003c\/strong\u003eFaint, only in heavy pools.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer: \u003c\/strong\u003eNone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow: \u003c\/strong\u003eMedium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit:\u003c\/strong\u003e This ink was made in 2024 for JR West’s project marking 150 years since the Kobe to Osaka railway opened in 1874. The purple sepia is meant to evoke the retro-modern feel of Kobe Station, whose 1930 building is still in use, and the 117 series “City Liner” Special Rapid train. The box shows the train’s blueprints and photos of the first two station buildings. “Monogatari” means “story”. Nagasawa began the Kobe INK Monogatari range in 2007 to capture Kobe in colour after the 1995 earthquake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003cbr\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003cbr\u003eI’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kobe \/ Nagasawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57410947219782,"sku":null,"price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/Kobe150purplesepia3.jpg?v=1791752813"},{"product_id":"nagasawa-kobe-ink-monogatari-hoshi-no-mame-lamp-4ml-fountain-pen-ink-sample","title":"Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari Hoshi-no-mame Lamp - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue: \u003c\/strong\u003eA bright tangerine orange. Officially described as a warm amber orange, but my swatches read brighter and juicier than “amber” suggests. The writing sample goes from yellow-orange to tangerine, and heavier pools deepen to red-orange.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes. Clear light-to-dark shading in writing, from pale marigold up to deeper orange.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen:\u003c\/strong\u003e None seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer:\u003c\/strong\u003e None.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow:\u003c\/strong\u003e Medium\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit: \u003c\/strong\u003eA collaboration between Nagasawa’s Kobe INK Monogatari line and Kyupodo, set on Koberia Street, a fictional port town where Western culture, magic and “things not quite human” settled in together. Hoshi-no-mame means “star bean”. These are the tiny lamps sold at Ryūsei (Meteor) Electric, the shop on the box, run by the man who tends the street’s lamps. Every bulb has a filament made from a shooting star, and its colour depends on what the meteor is made of. Magnesium glows blue-green. Sodium glows warm orange, and that’s this ink. It’s also sold in English as Little Shooting Star Lamp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003cbr\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003cbr\u003eI’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kobe \/ Nagasawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57410947645766,"sku":null,"price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/KobeLamp3.jpg?v=1791751693"},{"product_id":"nagasawa-kobe-ink-monogatari-chinbotsu-sen-wine-sauce-4ml-fountain-pen-ink-sample","title":"Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari Chinbotsu-sen Wine Sauce - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue:\u003c\/strong\u003e Officially a deep, velvety wine tone. On paper my swatches read as a dusty plum, more purple than red wine. The writing sample is a muted mauve-plum, and the pooled swabs go to a deep aubergine with blue-violet undertones and near-black edges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Moderate. It moves from soft mauve to deep plum in the writing sample and the swab bar, and shows more strongly in heavier pools.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen: \u003c\/strong\u003eNone in normal writing. Heavy pools dry with dark, concentrated rims rather than a distinct coloured sheen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer: \u003c\/strong\u003eNone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow:\u003c\/strong\u003e Medium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit: \u003c\/strong\u003eThis is a collaboration between Nagasawa, the Kobe stationer behind the Kobe INK Monogatari line, and Kyupodo. It belongs to a fictional world called Koberia Street, a hidden port town where Western culture, magic and not-quite-human residents have mixed since the harbour opened. “Chinbotsu-sen” means sunken ship. The ink is named after the house sauce of a restaurant run by a former ship’s cook. He is said to have cooked on sunken ships, first-class liners and possibly a ghost ship. Rumour has it his wine is salvaged from shipwrecks and supplied through a mermaid. The box shows the restaurant, the mermaid and the ghost.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003cbr\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003cbr\u003eI’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kobe \/ Nagasawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57410949185862,"sku":null,"price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/Kobewinesauce3.jpg?v=1791752074"},{"product_id":"nagasawa-kobe-ink-monogatari-nagata-pure-gold-4ml-fountain-pen-ink-sample","title":"Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari Nagata Pure-gold - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue: \u003c\/strong\u003eSold as gold, but on my swatches it reads as olive-khaki gold rather than a warm metallic gold. In writing it is a soft olive-gold. Where it pools heavily it deepens to a dark grey-green that is almost black.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Strong. Lines move from pale yellow-olive to deep khaki in a single stroke. The swabs also show chromatic separation, with a blue-grey core and olive-gold edges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen:\u003c\/strong\u003e Subtle, and only in heavy pools. It shows as a soft bronze lustre with dark edging, and is not visible in normal writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer:\u003c\/strong\u003e None.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow: \u003c\/strong\u003eMedium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit:\u003c\/strong\u003e No.88 in Nagasawa’s Kobe INK Monogatari (“Kobe Ink Story”), a series of colours that each portray a corner of Kobe. Nagata was one of the first parts of the city to be developed. It is home to Nagata Shrine, which is over 1,800 years old and one of Kobe’s three principal shrines. The “pure gold” is taken from the ornamental metal fittings on the doors of the shrine’s main hall. The series itself began in 2007, born out of the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake as a way of recording Kobe’s lost and rebuilt landscapes in ink.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003cbr\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003cbr\u003eI’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kobe \/ Nagasawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57410949480774,"sku":null,"price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/Kobenagatapuregold3.jpg?v=1791753600"},{"product_id":"nagasawa-kobe-ink-monogatari-fukae-urban-blue-4ml-fountain-pen-ink-sample","title":"Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari Fukae Urban-blue - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue:\u003c\/strong\u003e A muted, greyed blue-teal. Retailers call it denim blue, but my swatches read greener and greyer than that, closer to slate teal. Heavy pools go to a deep petrol teal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Low to moderate. Shows a soft light-to-dark shift in the swab bar and in looped writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen: \u003c\/strong\u003eNone in normal writing. Heavy pools on Tomoe River show a dark reddish-maroon edge along the drying lines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer: \u003c\/strong\u003eNone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow:\u003c\/strong\u003e Medium\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit:\u003c\/strong\u003e Kobe INK Monogatari (“Kobe Ink Story”) is Nagasawa’s series of colours inspired by places around Kobe; Nagasawa has been based in the city since 1882. Fukae was a key Edo-period route between the Saigoku road and the Arima hot springs, and has long been a training centre for Japanese seafarers. The ink is meant to connect that history with the area’s modernist architecture, which is where the “Urban” comes from.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003cbr\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003cbr\u003eI’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kobe \/ Nagasawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57410951053638,"sku":null,"price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/Kobeurbanblue3.jpg?v=1791753233"},{"product_id":"nagasawa-kobe-ink-monogatari-arima-amber-4ml-fountain-pen-ink-sample","title":"Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari Arima Amber - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue:\u003c\/strong\u003e Officially an amber or golden brown, and the box label is a warm golden amber. My swatches are noticeably redder and browner than that: a rich rust or red-brown in the swabs, and a burnt orange-brown in writing. If you’re expecting a golden amber, this is darker and warmer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Low to moderate. There’s a soft light-to-dark shift in the writing, and an orange halo at the edges of heavier swabs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen: \u003c\/strong\u003eNone seen. The swabs pool to dark, near-black edges, but there’s no colour-shift sheen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer:\u003c\/strong\u003e None.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow:\u003c\/strong\u003e Medium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit:\u003c\/strong\u003e Arima Onsen, in the hills behind Kobe, is one of Japan’s oldest hot springs and appears in the Nihon Shoki, Japan’s oldest chronicle of history. Its famous “kinsen” (gold spring) water is iron-rich and runs a rusty amber-brown, which is the colour this ink takes its name from. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Japan’s great unifiers, was a devoted visitor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003cbr\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003cbr\u003eI’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kobe \/ Nagasawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57410952266054,"sku":null,"price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/Kobearimaamber3.jpg?v=1791751330"},{"product_id":"nagasawa-kobe-ink-monogatari-sumiyoshi-brown-4ml-fountain-pen-ink-sample","title":"Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari Sumiyoshi Brown - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue:\u003c\/strong\u003e A dark, cool espresso brown. My swatches broadly match the official description but run cooler and greyer than you might expect. The dip-pen line reads as a greyed taupe-brown, handwriting sits close to brown-black, and heavy pools take on a dark slate, almost blue-black undertone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Low. There’s some light-to-dark variation in wider lines, but it’s subtle in everyday writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen: \u003c\/strong\u003eMinimal. A faint bronze-brown sheen appears at the edges of heavy pools only, so don’t expect it in normal writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer: \u003c\/strong\u003eNone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow:\u003c\/strong\u003e Medium\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sumiyoshi is a leafy district of Kobe where the novelist Junichiro Tanizaki lived. His former home, Ishōan, still stands there, and it’s where he wrote The Makioka Sisters. Nagasawa chose a traditional tea-brown to honour him, described in English as the colour of the writer’s favourite tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003cbr\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003cbr\u003eI’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kobe \/ Nagasawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57410952298822,"sku":null,"price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/Kobesumiyoshibrown3.jpg?v=1791753946"}],"url":"https:\/\/thepensmuggler.co.uk\/collections\/kobe.oembed","provider":"The Pen Smuggler","version":"1.0","type":"link"}