If you wish to visit Kobaien, please be sure to be on time, respectaful, and follow the instructions of the staff.
If you are unable to make it, please be sure to contact us.
Kobaien, or any traditional Japanese industrial workshop, IS NOT a tourist attraction like the Disneyland, a museum, or a zoo.
It is a place where real craftsmen are painstakingly making valuables art works. Everybody have the utmost respect for the craftsmen and staff to support them at Kobaien.
( Photo and article ) Kobaien sumi ink sticks - an incredible 400-yr old tradition
The reason for the set tour times is to ensure that visitors disturb the craftsmen and people of Kobaien as little as possible.
Please be sure to be on time, respectable, and follow the instructions of the staff on site.
The headquarters of Kobaien is located in Nara. And there is a branch in Kyoto.
Kobaien's headquarters sells inksticks produced by Kobaien. No one is allowed to enter Kobaien's workshop or courtyard without permission or reservation.
Kobaien's Kyoto store sells Kobaien ink as well as high-quality paper, brushes, inkstones, and other calligraphy and painting supplies. This Kyoto store does not have an ink-making workshop.
** Please do not use the comments section of this blog to ask about tours of the Kobaien or the workshop. It may take us some time to find out, and we may not be able to meet your requested date and time.
Please contact us using this inquiry page.
This product is a very good combination of traditional Japanese elegance and art. It met my expectations. Also, when I opened the cargo, I was very happy with the origami bird that I saw.
very high quality
very high quality
Beautiful paper, and it is perfect for oragami!
I'm using this ink stick for my calligraphy. Let me tell you how amazing it's. the colour and glossines is really nice and it's amazing for small work because the glossiness gives a really nice effect on the paper I use for my calligraphy
I'm using this ink stick for my calligraphy. Let me tell you how amazing it's. The flow is really something else and it's really smooth. It's darkness and matte colour is on another level.
Thank you for providing this amazing piece of work.
I was hugely excited to recieve this ink stick, and on opening the parcel was even more surpised find a beautiful origami crane nestled inside! The ink stick is simply stunning, and I can't wait to gift it to a good friend who is just starting out in calligraphy. I'm touched by the warm service by Inchi, and am grateful they have ensured this treausure arrived safe and well, despite travelling all the way to the UK. Thank you again!
I made this painting using the amazing Saibiboku ( The Inks of Color and Beauty) from Kobaien in Nara, Japan. I have made a collage with some coloured circles and the Kobaien set's swatches a the bottom.
I used mostly Saibiboku, except for the super-black spots and vivid yellow ones. The blacks as well as gold bits and small ornaments are made with Posca markers. Vivid yellow is a nickel azo gold, new watercolour shade by Roman Szmal. Saibiboku is made with Sumi ink, which results in more muted, darker colours - that is why I I did not use it for the vivid yellows as it would be too dark. As for the other colours, from Saibiboku, I can easily make them lighter by adding water, like some of the lilac and pink bits.
It is a Kandinski-inspired composition, I should say. At least it reminds me of! It was great fun for this small piece to be completed, for there is a lot of details with the intersections and so on. As you can see, the Saibiboku's shades are easily coordinated, and the palette is a joy to work with! Thanks for watching!
Kobaien Earth Paper has an interesting texture as you can feel the small amount of earth in it.
It does buckle/crease with too much moisture, so I dry mounted it onto a 300gsm card and then I was able to build up many layers of colour with fine edges.
With the moisture in each layer the paper would swell slightly, but then dry flat.
Working in this way I was able to obtain depth of colour and subtlety of shading.
I used Suibokugayou Aozumi ink, Saibiboku colours with the addition of gamboge yellow and white.
Now that the painting is framed the paper seems to glow - it is quite exquisite. It took me a little while to get used to it, but I will definitely be using Earth Paper again.
We are over the moon with appreciation to Ichi Inc.Japan and their craftsmen. Thank you for your superior service and care with every order.
Kindest regards,
Kelly & Michael Pickering
Safe delivery, lovely sincere note with the package. Beautiful high quality products! Will purchase again.
It's a very high quality ink that helps me to create great works of art. Very beautiful black colour and beautiful shades. Even when very thinned with water this ink is still very subtle.
I am very pleased with the variety and selection of Uda Gami washi that I have received. The four color tones in my order: Akebi, Yomogi, Sakura, and Ai, are as pleasing to the eye as their texture. I feel honored to be a very small part of the tradition to which the Fukunishi family in Yoshino, Nara brings great honor.
Furthermore, my order was packaged with great care, and arrived safely and securely. The enclosed letter and handwritten remark brought a smile.
Ichi Inc. continues to impress.
The colors, construction, and performance of the set is amazing. I cannot recommend them enough.
I have been using this ink since I started sumi-e five yeats ago. It is consistently predictable in the tesults you get. It is easy to work with even for a beginner.
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This product is a very good combination of traditional Japanese elegance and art. It met my expectations. Also, when I opened the cargo, I was very happy with the origami bird that I saw.
Beautiful paper, and it is perfect for oragami!
I'm using this ink stick for my calligraphy. Let me tell you how amazing it's. the colour and glossines is really nice and it's amazing for small work because the glossiness gives a really nice effect on the paper I use for my calligraphy
2 comments
Ichi inc, Japan
Thank you very much for your comment on our blogpage.
We have never thought of that old native American people used ink dishes like ours! How interesting and wonderful!
As for the use of big brush, calligraphy performances combined with dance and costumes have also been popular these days in Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuNMYLZFVzg
James Bleess
I am amazed! I love these photographs of a place and still – instruments, far away. How much we do not know is revealed clearly. Function determines form. The ink dishes for instance. These are exactly like paint pallets used by early native American people ages ago. The Arizona desert occasionally gives one up. Their use was the same; mixing a medium to paint. Here it is ink. A wonderful lesson here. Time, form and function. The giant brushes are equally amazing. I would love to see such a brush, in the hand of an artisan, applying ink to paper.