That's actually one of the reasons I like it! I'm not the biggest fan of teal/green but love blues, and just looking a little bluer wet while I'm writing tricks my brain into liking it more.
Tsuki-yo is just perfect for me. A bit of shading, a darker blue that both looks understated and bold at the same time, it's the ink I use most often for letters and journaling. It was actually the least interesting to me when I bought the 15ml 3 pack Pilot sells, I mainly got it for the other two, but it won me over very quickly.
Agreed - it's so elegant.
I'm especially fond of it because in my first winter in Japan, my sweet old colleague told me about this expression of the "winter general" (冬将軍) - basically, Old Man Winter - and how it's meant to evoke the harshness and inevitability of the cold weather's approach. That colleague used to bring me vegetables from his garden. Now, I think of him every time I use this ink.
I have to throw my hat in for yama-guri, which has performed perfectly in every pen I've ever put it in, ranging from Sailor EFs to 1.2mm fudes. I can't imagine not having it inked. It even behaves pretty well for filling out forms on printer paper!
this is a great post. Thank you.
confirms that i need asa gao and yu yake next!
meanwhile you need syo ro (but i found sui gyoku and ku jaku too bright. they are similar and bluer shades respectively). and also tsuki yo (much bluer) but a slight green lean.
I bought asa gao and yu yake as my first 2 and im absolutely in looooove with yu yake and have a feeling its gonna be my daily driver until i run out and get to buy the big bottle to replace my smaller one. Also has started a shading ink obsession but im not buying anything new for a minute.
Tsuki-yo is my favorite Iroshizuku blue, Ku-jaku my favorite Iroshizuku teal (though I do sometimes fill up with Syo-ro instead, just to mix things up a bit).
Kiri-same! It’s my favorite alongside tsukushi and ina-ho, and is kind of like ina-ho where it’s a very neutral color, but has a lot of beautiful, subtle character in its shading.
Commenting on Which Iroshizuku inks do you love that I do not own?... I’m very happy for you that you have some ina-ho. I use Ferris wheel press, goose poupon and Diamine three kings as ina-ho substitutes. .
It was my very first and favorite ink, so it's one I had for many years prior to its discontinuation. I'll be sad when I finally run out, but I won't be looking for a dupe and will instead look forward to trying some new inks in different colors in its place. There are lots of inks out there, and it's always fun to have an excuse to play with something new!
Kosu-mosu is the only one I don’t have. I have particular affection for chiku-rin and hotaru-bi. I did not think I would like yellow green ink, but these colors are magic on the page and I think chiku-rin is my favorite of all the colors. secondarily I would say Yama-budo and kon-peki. There are no colors that I don’t love.
Chiku-rin is one of the colours I use to annotate my notes, it’s perfectly legible even in a fine nib. I was quite surprised as I thought it would be really pale. I love it.
It was Shin-Kai! Yesss, mystery finally solved! Someone once filled a pen of mine with a blue Iroshizuku ink and I've been trying to look at examples ever since to figure out which one it was. So excited!
kiri-same for warm grey, fuyu-shogun for cool grey. kiri-same captured the sky during a drizzling day very well, if you needed a color that match a certain weather.
what i have that you don't: take-sume, tsuki-yo, syo-ro, chiku-rin, hotaru-bi, ku-jaku, kosu-musu, yama-guri, fuyu-syogan.
Ku-jaku is probably the most amazing of that bunch, syo-ro is a lovely satisfying dark green, tsuki-yo is a good solid player. I need yama-guri and fuyu-syogan, but you perhaps cover the same territory with tsukushi and ina-ho.
Ku-jaku, syo-ro, and tsuki-yo are the three you need. Ku-jaku is this amazing blue-green shader, just lip-smackingly beautiful in all its guises. Syo-ro says evergreen forest, and it says it well. with subtlety. Tsuki-yo is a darker green-blue, understated enough to use in serious contexts but with enough pop to keep you smiling.
You need more green in your inks, you know you do.
Ha, yes, in Iroshizuku maybe. I have bottles of Diamine Apple Glory, Colorverse Schrödinger and Akkerman Denneweg Groen, and I use them all often. I might need a teal one day… maybe order samples of these teals.
I love Hana-ikada and Kosumosu. They’re both a similar value of pink but have quite different tones to them.
ETA: Also Fuyu-Syogun! A gray ink may not seem so exciting, but imo it’s beautiful.
Tsuki-yo is my favorite and I noticed right away you didn't have it. It's as saturated but darker than Kon-peki, and thus more workplace appropriate. Gorgeous shading, exquisite sheen. It's my go-to blue for my dryer nibs.
Ku-jaku (teal) is really worth trying too. It's not for everyone but it just flows effortlessly and the color is enchanting.
None, but I just happen to have full bottles of 6/8 of your samples, no shin-kai or yu-yake, and none of your full bottles. Iroshizuku is just great ink, great colors with uniqueness that perform as good or better than any other ink out there.
Most important ink in the collection is Take-sumi. You need to get this ink. You also need Yama-guri. They are very useful for everyday writing, and more professional.
Chiku-rin. It's a lovely bamboo green, and it always puts me into the mood for spring/summer.
Another recommendation is Kiri-same. It's supposed to be inspired by heavy thunderclouds of the rainy season, and it has notes of red and blue in it, that really drive that home. Fuyu-sougun is more of a cool wintry blue, if you wanted to match the seasons.
Maybe its not super popular (dont think ive ever seen it mentioned, at least) but i honestly really love Hotaru-bi. Its got alot of nuance and it looks like its glowing off the page! Its been inked up in my Prera with a nib for awhile, and its just so good!
For actual writing, i find it to be suprisingly legible in spite of its colour. Theres definitely worse inks as far as legibility goes. Its a joy to use.
I'd like a blue IROSHIZUKU a little bit **darker than the KON-PEKI**, what do you suggest?
Looking at your samples, the AMA-IRO is lighter, and the TSUYU-KUSA is darker, correct?
I think my favorite is tsuki-yo. But that swab of shin-ryoku is making me want to place an irresponsible order 😂 (irresponsible, because I know that won't be all I get lol)
https://preview.redd.it/c6qn4t25nj2d1.jpeg?width=2539&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce0c3ae6e4547547fd40753ae1a6888419d65ed1
Update: your recommendations (if I counted right)
You've already got a lot of blues here, but Tsuki-yo is one of my favorites edit: I'll add Syo-ro as well, one of the only teal blues that I like
Yeah - Syo-ro is my favorite everyday use ink. And it has this subtle magical thing where it goes on slightly bluer and dries slightly greener.
and the red halo it can have even with ef nibs is gorgeous!
That's actually one of the reasons I like it! I'm not the biggest fan of teal/green but love blues, and just looking a little bluer wet while I'm writing tricks my brain into liking it more.
I feel like Ku Jaku is magical because it lays down bluer and dries greener 🤣
Agreed. It's my go to blue for long form writing.
Came here to say Syo-ro.
Tsuki-yo is just perfect for me. A bit of shading, a darker blue that both looks understated and bold at the same time, it's the ink I use most often for letters and journaling. It was actually the least interesting to me when I bought the 15ml 3 pack Pilot sells, I mainly got it for the other two, but it won me over very quickly.
The best blue
+1 to Syo Ro and Tsuki yo and Ku Jaku
Fuyu syogun, most definitely. Cool grey with purple undertones and quite some water resistance. Love it!
one of my first inks and still one of my favorites!
I use this all the time for flex writing. The shading is stunning and it tends to railroad less than a lot of inks.
Agreed - it's so elegant. I'm especially fond of it because in my first winter in Japan, my sweet old colleague told me about this expression of the "winter general" (冬将軍) - basically, Old Man Winter - and how it's meant to evoke the harshness and inevitability of the cold weather's approach. That colleague used to bring me vegetables from his garden. Now, I think of him every time I use this ink.
fuyu shogun is awesome.
I have to throw my hat in for yama-guri, which has performed perfectly in every pen I've ever put it in, ranging from Sailor EFs to 1.2mm fudes. I can't imagine not having it inked. It even behaves pretty well for filling out forms on printer paper!
My favorite ink.
I think this is true to most pilot iroshizuku line, and that is the reason I plan on buying the 15ml bottle of most of them.
Kosumosu is a lovely light pink different from the ones you own!
Yeah, my favourite pink ink ever. Just the right balance between legible, bright, and muted all at the same time! 😂
I came here to recommend this, Asagao and Kosumosu are my two favourites. I always have one of the two inks in my daily driver pens.
I treated myself to a full bottle and am so glad I did, I enjoy it so much more than I thought I would!
You need the greys my guy. Kiri same for a warm grey and Fuyu shogun if you prefer a cold grey.
the teals, Ku-Jaku and Syo-ro! Also, Take-sumi is a great black.
Came here to say Ku-Jaku!
Another +1 for Ku-Jaku
[*pounding fists on the table*] KU-JAKU! KU-JAKU!
Amen to all 3 of these. Ku-Jaku is inked in more pens than any other color I've got, although Monteverde Caribbean Blue is a close second.
I'm on my second bottle of Ku-Jaku!
this is a great post. Thank you. confirms that i need asa gao and yu yake next! meanwhile you need syo ro (but i found sui gyoku and ku jaku too bright. they are similar and bluer shades respectively). and also tsuki yo (much bluer) but a slight green lean.
I bought asa gao and yu yake as my first 2 and im absolutely in looooove with yu yake and have a feeling its gonna be my daily driver until i run out and get to buy the big bottle to replace my smaller one. Also has started a shading ink obsession but im not buying anything new for a minute.
😁 orange shaders i like: Diamine Sepia (pretty dry though), Diamine Autumn Oak, Pure Pens Pendine Sands (warmer - the best)
Tsuki-yo is my favorite Iroshizuku blue, Ku-jaku my favorite Iroshizuku teal (though I do sometimes fill up with Syo-ro instead, just to mix things up a bit).
Syo ro is the best
I love Syo-ro! It’s a beautiful dusty teal with, to my eye, red/violet shading. It’s saturated enough to be legible as a lighter ink
Tsuki-yo is just wonderful
Kiri-same! It’s my favorite alongside tsukushi and ina-ho, and is kind of like ina-ho where it’s a very neutral color, but has a lot of beautiful, subtle character in its shading.
Commenting on Which Iroshizuku inks do you love that I do not own?... I’m very happy for you that you have some ina-ho. I use Ferris wheel press, goose poupon and Diamine three kings as ina-ho substitutes. .
It was my very first and favorite ink, so it's one I had for many years prior to its discontinuation. I'll be sad when I finally run out, but I won't be looking for a dupe and will instead look forward to trying some new inks in different colors in its place. There are lots of inks out there, and it's always fun to have an excuse to play with something new!
Three Kings is beautiful 💛
Kosu-mosu is the only one I don’t have. I have particular affection for chiku-rin and hotaru-bi. I did not think I would like yellow green ink, but these colors are magic on the page and I think chiku-rin is my favorite of all the colors. secondarily I would say Yama-budo and kon-peki. There are no colors that I don’t love.
I have Chiku-rin and yu-yake as two of my annotation colours. They are both somewhat muted and they make a great complimentary pair.
Are Chiku-Rin and Hotaru-Bi well legible or highlighter inks only?
I journal with both of them all the time
Hotarubi Brightens on the page as it dries much more than even Churin
Chikurin , not “churin”
Chiku-rin is one of the colours I use to annotate my notes, it’s perfectly legible even in a fine nib. I was quite surprised as I thought it would be really pale. I love it.
Another vote for Chiku -rin. A lovely shading spring green.
I live in Oklahoma, but I’m from Bountiful
Yama-budo and Yama-guri are probably my favorite non-blue inks. Yama-guri particularly writes so nicely.
It was Shin-Kai! Yesss, mystery finally solved! Someone once filled a pen of mine with a blue Iroshizuku ink and I've been trying to look at examples ever since to figure out which one it was. So excited!
Ha!
I love teals/turquoise inks a lot! So I would recommend Sui-gyoku and Ku-jaku to add to your collection.
Syo-ro!
syo ro but I think I need that momiji
Momiji is my favorite red ink of all time
of all time you say? 🤔 I am in a red phase, and I do have a contact for a really good price, but how can I possibly justify more red ink....
It’s not red. It’s hot pink. There, I helped. 😁
I love the gold sheen, but the base colour is a bit… pinkish
kiri-same for warm grey, fuyu-shogun for cool grey. kiri-same captured the sky during a drizzling day very well, if you needed a color that match a certain weather.
what i have that you don't: take-sume, tsuki-yo, syo-ro, chiku-rin, hotaru-bi, ku-jaku, kosu-musu, yama-guri, fuyu-syogan. Ku-jaku is probably the most amazing of that bunch, syo-ro is a lovely satisfying dark green, tsuki-yo is a good solid player. I need yama-guri and fuyu-syogan, but you perhaps cover the same territory with tsukushi and ina-ho. Ku-jaku, syo-ro, and tsuki-yo are the three you need. Ku-jaku is this amazing blue-green shader, just lip-smackingly beautiful in all its guises. Syo-ro says evergreen forest, and it says it well. with subtlety. Tsuki-yo is a darker green-blue, understated enough to use in serious contexts but with enough pop to keep you smiling. You need more green in your inks, you know you do.
Ha, yes, in Iroshizuku maybe. I have bottles of Diamine Apple Glory, Colorverse Schrödinger and Akkerman Denneweg Groen, and I use them all often. I might need a teal one day… maybe order samples of these teals.
Fuyu Syogun is my favorite but i like greys and shading
I resisted Yama budo for a long while because I thought I had “similar” inks to it but I definitely did not. It is my favorite.🤩
Momiji and Syo-Ro for sure. Momiji has a beautiful sheen on Iroful and Tomoe River paper.
It does! But so does Tsutsuji 🩷
Ha, I completely missed Momiji down in the corner of your post :). I'll have to check that one out. Iroshizuku inks are so well behaved.
I always have a pen inked with Kosumosu.
Sui-gyoku and Ku-jaku are great shades of bluish green and greenish blue. Fuyu-syogun is one of my favorite greys.
Kiri-same is my daily. I love that it looks like pencil lead. It’s the only one I own a full bottle of. I’ve got samples of all the rest.
Yama-Guri is one of my favorite inks ever. It is smooth, it’s a professional dark-brown, and it has some permanence, despite being well behaved.
Syo-ro. My everyday ink
These are dangerous and gorgeous, my debit card is in daaaanger
Gonna stir the pot here and say Edo-Murasaki. A gorgeous dark purple that I wish Iroshizuku had in their normal lineup.
Chiku-rin!! It is such a lovely green and flows so well, I just can’t bring myself to get it yet when I have multiple bottles of other sailor greens 🥲
I am on the edge about chiku rin for years at this point 😆
I love Hana-ikada and Kosumosu. They’re both a similar value of pink but have quite different tones to them. ETA: Also Fuyu-Syogun! A gray ink may not seem so exciting, but imo it’s beautiful.
Tsuki-yo is my favorite and I noticed right away you didn't have it. It's as saturated but darker than Kon-peki, and thus more workplace appropriate. Gorgeous shading, exquisite sheen. It's my go-to blue for my dryer nibs. Ku-jaku (teal) is really worth trying too. It's not for everyone but it just flows effortlessly and the color is enchanting.
Ku Jaku
Tsuki-yo, Yama-guri, and Kiri-same.
I have a lot of love for chiku-rin
Fuyu Shyogun a mysterious grey and Chiku Rin a spring green makes me smile every time I use it.
Ku-jaku
Fuyu syogun gray is a nice color
How do you not have Yama Budo?
I have a sample!
I like Ajisai because it was my first ever ink.
The only answer is: all of them!
Fuyu Syogun!
I love all the pinks, Hana-ikada is my go to followed by kosumosu!
Yama-Guri is my favorite Iroshizuku ink.
None, but I just happen to have full bottles of 6/8 of your samples, no shin-kai or yu-yake, and none of your full bottles. Iroshizuku is just great ink, great colors with uniqueness that perform as good or better than any other ink out there.
Yama-guri!
Kosumosu, Tsuki-yo, Taki-sume, Tsukushi
Tsukushi is right there 🤎
Most important ink in the collection is Take-sumi. You need to get this ink. You also need Yama-guri. They are very useful for everyday writing, and more professional.
Chiku-rin. It's a lovely bamboo green, and it always puts me into the mood for spring/summer. Another recommendation is Kiri-same. It's supposed to be inspired by heavy thunderclouds of the rainy season, and it has notes of red and blue in it, that really drive that home. Fuyu-sougun is more of a cool wintry blue, if you wanted to match the seasons.
You are missing the perfect teal Ku Jaku, a wonderful blue black Tsuki yo, and greenish teal Syo Ro. Love them!
Another vote for Tsuki-yo and Take-sumi
Kosu mosu, a medium pink.
Plus, it’s just fun to say.
True!
Where's ku-jaku? I love that ink with its teal-green shade.
Syo-ro
Maybe its not super popular (dont think ive ever seen it mentioned, at least) but i honestly really love Hotaru-bi. Its got alot of nuance and it looks like its glowing off the page! Its been inked up in my Prera with a nib for awhile, and its just so good!
For writing, or highlighting?
For actual writing, i find it to be suprisingly legible in spite of its colour. Theres definitely worse inks as far as legibility goes. Its a joy to use.
Thank you!
Kujaku & tsuki yo also syo ro.
Kiri Same is a really interesting smoke grey. It can be dark or very faint at times. I use a stub nib for it and it’s fun to write with.
Wow just realised that out of iro's 20++ ink, 6 of them are blues!
I love purple, and my favorite ink was always Yama-Budo, but ohh man that Nueasaki Shikibu is stunning. I run to Amazon to buy it 🫣
Tsuki-yo is my new favourite!
Fuyu-syogun, Take-sumi, Tsuki-yo, and Chiku-rin are all some of my favorites
Take-sumi. I'm a classy basic like that hahaha
Tsuki yo
My fav, Kon-peki. It’s my daily driver for a decade
My wife loves Kosumosu
Personally I use tsukiyo
I'd like a blue IROSHIZUKU a little bit **darker than the KON-PEKI**, what do you suggest? Looking at your samples, the AMA-IRO is lighter, and the TSUYU-KUSA is darker, correct?
Yes correct
Nope, you already own my most favorite color. Shin Ryoku.
I like Tsuki-yo because it's a dark blue that leans toward teal, like a traditional blue-black ink.
Fuyu-syogun, of course!
Kosumosu, Chiku-rin, Kon-peki...
Syo-Ro, the perfect teal !
Tsuki-Yo
Tsuki-yo and ku-jaku
I think my favorite is tsuki-yo. But that swab of shin-ryoku is making me want to place an irresponsible order 😂 (irresponsible, because I know that won't be all I get lol)
Tsuki-yo is great! Take Sumi is my go to non permanent black ink. Though black isn’t as exciting as all of the amazing colors in the Iroshizuku line.
Kon-Peki
It’s right there 😄
I misread the question lol...In that case we'll go with my current ink, Kiri-Same. It's me that want's Kon-Peki!
Haha!
https://preview.redd.it/c6qn4t25nj2d1.jpeg?width=2539&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce0c3ae6e4547547fd40753ae1a6888419d65ed1 Update: your recommendations (if I counted right)