Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose

Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose - Ink Drop

Opera Rose is the ink that led me to Teranishi Chemical Industry Co. and their Guitar Taisho-Roman Haikara series inks. They’ve been making inks since 1916 and have made inks for other well-known labels, but this series has really broadened awareness for the company’s own brand, since it was released in 2021.

Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose - on Cosmo Air Light

Opera Rose varies widely based on the nib width that you choose. All of my examples were made using a wet, Jowo medium nib, but I’ve used it in a variety of pens from extra fine to 1.1 stub. In my experience, the finer the nib, the lighter the result. Paper plays a huge role, as well. The color range on Cosmo Air Light is quite different from the range seen on Rhodia in the ink drop image at the top of the review.

Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose - Color Range

Overall, I’d call this a blend of orange, soft rose taupe, and desert sand tan. The rose pink influences show on some papers, more than others. The orange influences dominate the pinks in other instances. In a full page of writing, it has a hazy quality that really works. It’s very legible, but there’s a softness that is very appealing. This ink is all about finding the paper and nib pairing that gives you the results you like.

There’s variation, but it is subtle, and I wouldn’t call this a shading ink. It’s all about the color. As you can see in some of my examples, there’s sometimes a mild, darkened stroke edge, too. This is a very unusual ink.

Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose - on Rhodia

The writing experience is very comfortable. Teranishi won a functionality award (and another for design) for the Guitar Taisho-Roman Haikara series at the 2021 Japanese Stationery Awards, and it was well-deserved. This is a wet ink that performs very nicely. Drying is fairly fast on all papers, and I haven’t had any issues with feathering. There’s a little show-through on uncoated papers, but it isn’t an unusual amount.

Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose - Writing Samples

The packaging and bottles are both very nice in design and quality. Teranishi’s Guitar Taisho-Roman Haikara series are easy to recommend. Opera Rose is a beautiful ink!

Keep scrolling down for the swatch card, swatch comparisons, and the bottle and box.

Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose - Ink Swatch Card

Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose - Swatch Comparisons

Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose - Ink Bottle

Teranishi Guitar TR - Opera Rose - Ink Box