Nagasawa Kobe Ink Monogatari Kitano Antique-sepia - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample

Hue: Officially an antique sepia brown. In my swatches the thin bar reads as a muted, slightly cool sepia, but wherever the ink goes down heavier it darkens to a near-black olive green. The handwriting sample reads closer to green-black than brown. Expect a darker, greener ink than the name suggests, especially from a wet or broad nib.

Shading: Low. There is slight darkening where the bar overlaps, but written lines are largely flat.

Sheen: Green, and plenty of it where the ink pools. The swabs are almost entirely sheened over. A bronze glint also shows on the swab bar at an angle.

Shimmer: None.

Flow: Wet

The interesting bit: Nagasawa launched this in April 2020 as a store-exclusive “special colour” for their Kobe INK Monogatari shop. The shop was inside Kitano Kobo no Machi, a craft and tourist centre built in the renovated former Kitano Elementary School, in Kobe’s Ijinkan district of old foreign residences. The colour is meant to capture the old school building, with its staircase ornament, stained glass and chandeliers. The label seal is taken from the decoration on the staircase handrail. The centre closed in 2023, so the ink has outlived the building that inspired it. Like all Kobe inks, it’s made for Nagasawa by Sailor.

This is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.
Photos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.
I’m a collector and I’m always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.