This ink has been on my “must get” list for so long, and it hasn’t disappointed in any way! Number 57 in Kobe Ink’s lineup is Hime-ajisai (Hydrangea). On Fountain Pen Companion, it’s the most popular ink in Kobe’s extensive catalog, and for good reason!

Hydrangea flowers come in many colors, but I always think of combinations of pink, violet, and blue. Kobe 57 blends the three beautifully! In many examples, all three colors are individually visible. You’ll often find blue at the edges and pink violets in stroke centers.

There is a powerful glow on high-quality papers that I find irresistible. On coated papers, there’s nice, darkened edge definition that almost makes it float off the page. On uncoated papers, it retains the glow, but loses some of the pops of pink and blue and is more uniform in color. This is a great shading ink on all papers with strong shifts from light to dark. Beautiful!

Kobe inks are made by Sailor for Kobe, Japan’s Nagasawa stationery store, and in writing, 57 performs as nicely as you’d imagine. I find it moderately wet in flow and very comfortable on the page. There’s no feather or spread. Show-through is reasonable with spots of bleed (blue!) in only very saturated places. Drying times were fast on all papers tested, too. No complaints at all.

I absolutely love this ink! Kobe inks come in Sailor’s older, jar-style, 50 ml bottles. They aren’t my favorite, but they aren’t a problem. Outside of Japan, Kobe inks are a bit pricey on many online retailers at US$30, but 57 Hime-ajisai is definitely worth it in my opinion! If you only get one from Kobe, 57 would be my choice!