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Aka-Mai
A botanical Sailor ink series named for plants of the Manyoshu poetry anthology, known for soft shading and gentle sheen.
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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 Sailor Manyo
Sailor Manyo, introduced in 2020, is a botanical ink series inspired by plants and flowers mentioned in the Manyoshu, Japan's oldest anthology of poetry. Each 50 ml bottle is named after one of those plants, and the dye inks are known for soft, multi-tonal shading with a gentle sheen on many colors.
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.