The above photo was taken in direct sunlight. Ink is swatched on Clairefontaine 90gsm paper, using a glass dip pen.
Specs
Name: Shikiori Miruai
Maker: Sailor Inks
Color Family: Green
Properties: Shading, Sheening
Purchased at: Goulet Pens
What’s in a name?
Sailor’s Shikiori line celebrates the beauty of each of the four seasons in Japan. Miruai is seaweed, and certainly this ink has the same dusky green hue as seaweed! It also shades and kinda sorta sheens black.
Swatches
A large swatch of ink showcases the darkest this ink gets, as well as the maximum properties it has (when held at the right angle to show any shimmer or sheen). But what about when you’re writing a letter or notes with it?
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| Close-up in direct sunlight shows grey-green ink with reddish black shading/sheening. It’s not so obviously metallic that I thought it was sheening at first, but the close-ups are pretty cool. |
The above was written on Tomoe River 68gsm paper, using a Noodler’s Creaper fountain pen with a Flex nib.
Of course, for maximum effect you want to see it in light and in motion. The following video shows the ink swatched on Skylab Letterpress 160gsm cards.
Thoughts
I don’t regularly use this ink, because to be honest when an ink shades black like this, my eyes interpret the whole thing as grey. I can only make out the green in each letter when I’m squinting at it. Still, it’s an unusual color, which makes it rather interesting on its own.
It shades pretty solidly (made dramatic because the shading incorporates different colors as well as intensities) and it’s a moderately wet ink that gave me no trouble at all in the pen. The gold-ish, red-ish black sheen is striking and, I think, definitely captures a wet seaweed tone. I’d say it’s a very masculine ink, good for professional use despite having special properties.
*All pics and vid were taken using an iPhone XS and color-adjusted to best reflect the hue of that ink.
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