TAG Stationery kyo-no-oto Ochiguriio - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample

Hue: A dark walnut brown in the pen. TAG describe it as coal-black on first contact, settling to a tannish chestnut brown as it shades – my swatches bear that out, but with two caveats. In a dip-pen line it writes noticeably darker than the "medium brown" some retailers suggest, closer to dark chocolate. And where it pools it doesn't stay coal-black – it separates out into a distinct slate blue-grey, which you can see clearly in the muddler swabs. Warm tan at the edges, cool grey in the puddles.

Shading: Strong. Pale chestnut through to near-black in a single stroke, with the blue-grey separation showing wherever ink pools.

Sheen: None seen on my swatches. Some reviewers report a faint dark sheen in very heavy pooling.

Shimmer: None.

Flow: Medium.

The interesting bit: Ochiguri means "fallen chestnut" – a chestnut on the ground, not on the tree, which is why it reads darker and earthier than a straightforward chestnut brown. It's No.10 in TAG's Kyo-no-oto ("sounds of Kyoto") series, made by the Kyoto stationer Takeda Jimuki to recreate the traditional dye colours of the Heian period. The colour itself gets a mention in The Tale of Genji as a popular shade for ladies' kimono. Made in small batches, so bottles can vary slightly in tone.

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.