Sailor Shikiori Harahara - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample

Hue: A dusky plum-purple. Sailor and most retailers describe it as a "smoky mauve" or muted mauvey purple; on my Tomoe River swatches it reads a good deal deeper and more pigmented than "mauve" suggests — a true mid-tone violet-plum in ordinary writing, dropping to near-black aubergine where it pools. The written line is lighter and slightly redder than the swab bar.

Shading: Yes. Light-to-dark transitions are clear even in the writing sample, and the swab bar breaks into distinctly paler and darker bands. Heavy applications separate into a purple core with a charcoal-black edge.

Sheen: None visible on my swatches.

Shimmer: None.

Flow: Medium.

The interesting bit: Harahara belongs to the Sound of Rain group within Sailor's Shikiori ("four seasons weaving") line — four inks named after Japanese onomatopoeia for the sounds rain makes, one per season: Shitoshito for spring, Zaza for summer, Harahara for autumn and Potsupotsu for winter. They were made as companions to the Sound of Rain Pro Gear Slim pens Sailor released in 2021, Harahara pairing with the Kiri-same (Autumn Drizzle) pen. はらはら describes light things falling scattered and softly — drizzle, but equally leaves or petals coming down, which is why an autumn rain word ended up attached to a purple rather than a grey. The same word does double duty in Japanese for the fluttery feeling of watching something and holding your breath.

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.