Inktend / Ink library / Kuchiba
Kuchiba
Shosaikan is one of the 713 brands in Inktend's built-in ink catalog.
Paper & pairing
Reds and pinks show the most dramatic shading of any color family: expect real variation between the edges and center of each letter. This ink will behave predictably on most fountain-pen-friendly paper. Cheap, highly absorbent paper (standard copier paper) will dull any ink's saturation and can cause feathering or bleed-through with wetter nibs.
About Shosaikan
Shosaikan is a specialist pen boutique in Aoyama, Tokyo, opened in April 2001. The shop stocks around 30 international and Japanese writing-instrument brands, from Pilot and Sailor to Pelikan and Visconti, alongside inks, accessories and its own exclusive products, and also runs an in-house cafe.
Storing and using the bottle
Bottled fountain pen ink has an effectively long shelf life when kept capped and out of direct sunlight: most inks remain usable for years. The main risk isn't the ink spoiling, it's a pen sitting inked and unused for weeks: that's what causes clogs, not the ink's age.
Frequently asked questions
Similar shades By colour distance
Color shown is a close digital approximation of a typical swatch, not a calibrated color match.