TACCIA Ukiyo-e Sharaku Kurocha — 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample

Hue: A very dark brown that reads close to black in normal writing. Taccia and most retailers describe it as a dark warm brown or dark chocolate; my swatches agree in thin lines and at the dry end of the swab bar, where it warms into a distinct rust-brown, but the heavy muddler swabs come out cooler and greyer than "chocolate" suggests — a smoky grey-black core with warm rust edges. Expect a near-black brown on the page rather than an obviously brown brown.

Shading: Yes, medium. The swab bar shifts from near-black to warm rust-brown across its length, and the drops separate noticeably into cool grey-black and warm brown.

Sheen: Yes — a black sheen in the pooled areas of the swabs. Not something you'll see in ordinary writing, only where the ink sits heavily.

Shimmer: None.

Flow: Medium.

The interesting bit: The Ukiyo-e range is grouped under four Edo-period print artists, and this one belongs to the Sharaku set. Tōshūsai Sharaku is the great mystery of the genre — his entire career as a woodblock designer lasted about ten months in 1794–95, his real name and dates are unknown, and his unflattering, realistic portraits of kabuki actors were unpopular enough at the time that his output stopped as abruptly as it began. Kurocha means "black tea", and the colour is taken from the dark kimono in his best-known print, The Actor Ōtani Oniji III as Yakko Edobei, which is reproduced on the box.

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.