Kyo No Oto - Ryokuyu-iro

Kyo No Oto - Ryokuyu-iro - ink drop

Today, it’s the second of two shimmer inks released by Kyoto TAG at the beginning of 2021. This is Kyo No Oto No.12 Ryokuyu-iro. Meaning “green glaze”, it’s inspired by a particular color used in China for thousands of years to glaze tiles, pottery, and statuary. It became popular in Japan during the Heian period (794-1185).

Kyo No Oto - Ryokuyu-iro - ink color range

Visually, this is a soft, powdery, hunter green. I see a lot of emotion in this delicate, dark green. Although shading isn’t well delineated in some nibs, it’s a nice shading ink, with a consistent blending of lighter and darker areas swirling across strokes. The splatter shows blackened edging, but it never really develops in writing. This is, of course, a shimmer ink, and it’s done beautifully. It’s a gorgeous, fine-particle gold and silver mix. It flows well, and carpets strokes in a dazzling glaze of shine and sparkle. This is a stunning ink, without any garishness, at all.

Kyo No Oto - Ryokuyu-iro - Beautiful!

Like No.11 Ruri-iro, Ryokuyu-iro (No.12) is a wonderful writing ink. Although it has a slight dryness, it flows nicely, and writes comfortably. The shimmer didn’t cause any concerns. Drying was 15-20 seconds on premiums, and under 5 seconds on office copy.

Kyo No Oto - Ryokuyu-iro - ink swatch card

As the first two shimmers released by Kyoto TAG, there were a lot of expectations surrounding the release of Ruri-iro and Ryokuyu-iro. I’m happy to say, they lived up to them! Both are gorgeous inks, and the shimmers are comfortable to use. I recommend both of them. Kyoto TAG inks aren’t the cheapest, but they’re consistently among the best!

Kyo No Oto - Ryokuyu-iro - Shimmer!