Genchi inkstick ( Light purplish black with sesami seed oil 玄螭 げんち )

Genchi's name draws on two characters — Gen (玄), black or profound, and Chi (螭), a kind of dragon — a name with the same air of mystery as the ink itself.

Made from sesame seed oil soot, the finest grade Kobaien produces, its particles are ground exceptionally fine, and on the page a line pulled from it stretches smoothly and pools into blooms of striking beauty rather than breaking apart.

At full strength, Genchi settles into a dark, pure black; thinned into a wash, it opens into a soft, unexpected purple, a quiet transformation that rewards painters willing to explore its lighter register.

It's offered across four sizes — 1.0 at 20×77×9mm, 30g, through to 5.0 at 34×132×14.4mm, 112g — so both quick studies and larger paintings can draw on the same ink.

For anyone working in ink wash where line quality and tonal range matter as much as blackness, Genchi is worth the time it takes to get to know.