Kobaien 'Chikurin Shichiken' (Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove) 12-chō Nara Sumi Ink

A large 12-chō presentation stick from Kobaien, the Nara ink house founded in 1577, moulded with the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.

Kobaien, founded in Nara in 1577, is the oldest surviving maker of solid sumi in Japan. Nara-zumi is made by kneading soot with animal glue (nikawa), pressing it into carved wooden moulds and drying it slowly for months, and a well-made stick improves for years as the glue settles. This is the maker's top-grade oil-soot ink (yuenboku) made from rapeseed-oil soot. The shop describes it as giving a glossy pure black when ground thick and a tea-toned black when diluted, suited to kanji, kana and sutra copying. At this size it is as much a desk object as a working ink.

Details

• Maker: Kobaien (古梅園), Nara
• Name: 竹林七賢 (Chikurin Shichiken), 12-chō size
• Type: top-grade rapeseed-oil soot ink (油煙墨)
• Size: 7.0 × 12.9 × 1.7 cm; approx. 200 g
• Box: not specified by the shop; shipped in protective packaging
• Condition: new

Watch: sumi ink being made at Kobaien, Nara

A calligraphy channel visits Kobaien in Nara to film its traditional handmade sumi ink production. (Not this specific piece.)

Please read before ordering

• Limited availability. We confirm availability with the dealer in Japan within one business day of your order; if it has sold we refund in full immediately.
• Ships from New Jersey in 2–3 weeks. Price includes all import duties. Fully insured, signature required.