Taccia seems to be on the ball lately with new ink. Recently I did an overview of their Lip color line of inks, each based on classic shades of lipstick. Today I am showing the Ukiyo-e line of ink (I am told this translates to “picture of the floating world”); a collection of 8 inks inspired by traditional Japanese paintings.
The Ukiyo-e collection is divided into two groups: four Hokusai inks and four Sharaku inks. First we will look at the Hokusai group. These are each inspired by the artist Hokusai who created the 36 views of Mt. Fuji as woodblock prints in the 1800s in Japan.
Taccia Ukiyo-e Hokusai-Benitsuchi is the Red Soil of Mt Fuji. it is slightly redder than KWZ Meet Me in St. Louis 2019 – it shades dramatically from dark rust to a light reddish coffee inspired by Fine Wind, Clear Morning.
Taccia Ukiyo-e Houdai-Koiai is Dark Indigo ink and shows the image of the famous Great Wave Off Kanagawa with Mt. Fuji in the background. This is another dramatically shading ink from a bright cerulean to dark blue with a muted sheen.
Taccia Ukiyo-e Hokusai-Fukakihanada or Light Blue shades from a light sky blue to a medium blue, inspired by the woodblock print Kajikazawa.
The final ink in the Hokusai group is Taccia Ukiyo-e Hokusai Saibimidori (my personal favorite) or Rust Green. The shading on this ink is a medium teal to a forest green. It was inspired by the woodcut Barrier Town on the Sumida River.
The second group of inks in the Taccia Ukiyo-e line is the Sharaku set of four inks. These were inspired by Ukiyo-e style of woodcuts and paintings of Kabuki actors.
Taccia Ukiyo-e Sharaku-Akasakura or Red Cherry is close to Diamine Ancientt Copper with a bit more red.
Taccia Ukiyo-e Sharaku Natane or Rapeseed Yellow is bright yellow in both the swatch and in writing. Most inks that I have in this color range seem to show the green undertones in writing, but Natane stays yellow.
Taccia Ukiyo-e Sharaku-Koiame or Dark Yellow-Brown is another favorite of mine, shading from a pale peach to a dark brown-red-orange. The shading shows beautifully in writing where it shifts suddenly from light to dark.
Taccia Ukiyo-e Sharaku-Kurocha or Dark Brown is a medium chocolate brown.
I ony purchased one botttle of the Taccia Ukiyo-e inks (so far) so I only have this box to show. The artwork on each ink box is incredible, recreating the original woodcut which inspired the ink name and color.
The 40mL bottles in the Ukiyo-e line of inks is a nice change from small ink bottles. The box is so much larger than the bottle that at first, I felt like the bottle was quite small, but 40mL is a significant amount of ink.
I found these inks to be slightly dry but this didn’t bother me at all. It was hard to notice it much since I was staring at the shading the whole time. The Ukiyo-e inks are not waterproof and behaved very well on fountain pen frriendly paper.
The cut glass bottle is beautful, but not unusual. However, the shading on all of these inks make them stand out among the ever-growing numbers of ink available. Do watch out for color, though. The box and label of Sabimidori here doesn’t really show the true color of the ink. Not even the ink shows the true color of the ink (once dried at least)!
Tools:
- Ink: Ukiyo-e Inks by Taccia (Vanness, $20 for 40mL)
- Swatch Cards: Col-o-ring ink testing cards ($10 for 100 card pack)
DISCLAIMER: All of the materials used in this review were purchased by me. Please see the About page for more details.
I must say I’m not much of a fan of these ink colors, but the boxes are gorgeous!
I am totally obsessed with Sharaku-Koiame! Thank you for comparing them so well to other inks in the same color families. I agree, the shading is phenomenal, and the dryness doesn’t bother me either, whereas it normally would.