Pilot Iroshizuke Syun-gyo - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample
Pilot Iroshizuke Syun-gyo - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample
Details
Hue: Officially a black with a faint hint of red. On my swatches it reads more deep plum-aubergine than black, and it fades to a dusty mauve where the ink thins. Handwriting comes closest to the official description, showing as a very dark plum-brown.
Shading: Moderate. The swab bar and lighter washes run from near-black plum to dusty mauve. It's subtle in handwriting.
Sheen: Heavy green-gold sheen on the swabs and along the edges of the swab bar. Much more restrained in handwriting.
Shimmer: None.
Flow: Medium.
The interesting bit: Syun-gyo (春暁) means "spring dawn." Pilot describes it as one moment of a calm spring daybreak, a black with a faint glow of red. It launched in Japan in October 2024 with two other new Iroshizuku shades, to-ro and rikka. The same word is the title of Meng Haoran's Tang dynasty poem, whose opening line lives on in Japan as a saying about sleeping soundly through spring mornings.
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.
Postage
Royal Mail or Evri, your choice at checkout, from £1.90. Free over £20. Dispatched within 2 working days. UK only for now.
Returns
Change your mind within 14 days and I'll refund you, including standard outbound postage. Return postage is yours unless something's wrong. Opened vials can only be refunded in part. Full details in my refund policy.
What you're getting
A 4ml vial, hand-decanted by me from my own bottle. Swatch photos are mine, on Tomoe River paper. Colours vary with paper, nib and screen, so treat them as a good guide rather than an exact match.