Taccia Ukiyo-e Fountain Pen Ink fukaki hanada - Cornflower Blue

Fukaki Hanada is a muted, dusty cornflower blue – a colour that cannot be captured in a single word, as Taccia itself states. The ink belongs to Taccia's (Nakabayashi) Ukiyo-e series and translates the colour language of Japanese woodblock prints from the Edo period into a water-based fountain pen ink. The inspiration comes from the work of Katsushika Hokusai, specifically the blue tone from his woodblock print "The Solitary Angler at Kajikazawa" – a sheet from his legendary series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji". The colour palette for the entire series was developed by Japanese stationery expert Hiroshi Ishizu and overseen by colour consultant Hanae Matsumoto.

Features

• Dusty, muted cornflower blue: Fukaki Hanada is not a pure, vibrant blue – the colour has a matt, slightly hazy quality that recalls the water-soluble plant pigments used to colour historic ukiyo-e woodblocks. This gives the writing a calm, atmospheric depth.
• Moderate shading: In broad strokes or large areas, the ink displays gentle variations in tone – lighter zones in thinly applied areas, darker in saturated ones. This echoes the bokashi technique of ukiyo-e prints, where colour gradations were hand-applied to the woodblock.
• Well-behaved ink: The ink flows smoothly and dries quickly – no excessive afterflow, no skipping on standard papers.
• Wide-mouth glass bottle with 40 ml: The generous opening of the glass bottle allows direct filling of converters or cartridges, without need for a pipette or workaround.
• Illustrated packaging: The cardboard box features a motif from Hokusai's work – designed as a standalone object, not merely as outer packaging.
• Safe materials: All Ukiyo-e inks are made from fountain pen-compatible materials and have been approved by a colour consultant in Japan.

Use & Tips

• Nibs: The dusty blue reveals its shading most distinctly with a medium to broad nib – a stub nib will noticeably enhance the tonal variations. With a fine nib, Fukaki Hanada appears more uniform and slightly lighter.
• Paper: On smooth, calendered paper (such as Tomoe River), the ink displays its full depth and shading looks particularly beautiful. On slightly more absorbent paper, it dries faster and the shading becomes less pronounced.
• Illustration & Lettering: The muted blue works well alongside hand-drawn sketches, watercolour text and thoughtfully composed lettering. It harmonises beautifully with warm browns and earth tones as well as black.
• Calligraphy: For Japanese calligraphy scripts (Hiragana, Katakana) or Western calligraphic styles, the colour brings a historical quality without appearing dated.
• Daily planning & Journalling: The calm, not overly intense blue works well as an everyday colour in bullet journals or planners – present but not obtrusive.

For Ink Enthusiasts

The ukiyo-e woodblock prints of the Edo period used water-soluble, plant-based pigments that created a characteristically soft, muted colour palette. In the 18th century, Prussian blue became popular in Japan and particularly shaped Hokusai's landscape depictions – the deep, slightly broken blue of his waves and skies remains iconic to this day. Fukaki Hanada captures precisely this colour mood: a mid-range ocean blue with a slightly dusty character that shifts between calm sky blue and deep seawater depending on light and paper. The ink is not archival and not waterproof – water-soluble like its historical predecessors.

Technical Specifications