{"product_id":"mandai-paulownia-oil-inkstick-red-purplish-black","title":"Mandai Paulownia oil inkstick ( Red-Purplish black 萬代)","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eSize:\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e W:15mm L:55.5mm T:7 mm Wgt:8gram ( 80 gram including the wrapping bag) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eMandai — 萬 ( Man, ten thousands ) 代 (dai, generation) — is a rare and limited inkstick made from paulownia oil, a material so difficult to work with that few makers still attempt it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWhile there is another type of ink—known as\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/the-worlds-oldest-inkstick.jp\/products\/toukaen-yuenboku-inkstick-red-purplish-black-with-rare-paulownia-oil\"\u003e\"Toukaen ( 桐華煙 ) \"\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e—that is made from rare paulownia oil, this \"Mandai\" is essentially a smaller version of that Toukaen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePushed dark, it settles into a deep, elegant black; thinned, it opens into a reddish-purple black unlike anything drawn from more common oils.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eCompleted in 2023 after incorporating the latest refinements in Kobaien's craft, it wasn't released until late October 2024 — and each stick arrives with a paper noting its year of manufacture and a Kobaien seal of authenticity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePaulownia oil dries almost as fast as it's poured, forming a skin the instant it touches air, which makes it nearly impossible to ignite by ordinary means — a property so useful for coating furniture that little pure oil is left over for ink.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/0740\/4224\/files\/paulownia-4115515_1280_95fc223a-25ad-4495-99d3-3f05f0f8f18a.jpg?v=1729860878\" alt=\"\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWhere a typical soot-collecting burn takes hours, coaxing paulownia oil to smoke demands more than four times the effort and hands, the flame trimmed low and tended constantly so it never quite catches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe soot this produces, though, is exceptionally fine — and the dough made from it dries and stiffens so quickly that it can't simply be pressed into an ordinary mould; it must be kneaded without pause and worked in specially built moulds made for this oil alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/0740\/4224\/files\/sc-_2024-10-27_12.22.25_1024x1024.jpg?v=1729999972\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mariosforsos.com\/stories\/on-calligraphy-ink\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePhoto by Marios Forsos\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/the-worlds-oldest-inkstick.jp\/blogs\/blog\/as-the-weather-gets-colder-kobaien-starts-making-inksticks\"\u003eKobaien Sumi inksticks making process\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/0740\/4224\/files\/sc-_2024-10-27_12.11.47_1024x1024.jpg?v=1730000143\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe practice traces back to a pine shortage in Song-dynasty China, when ink makers first turned to vegetable and mineral oils as substitutes — paulownia among them, prized ever since by aristocrats and artists for the exceptionally fine particles it alone could produce.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eOne customer, working in black and white, praised the stick's wide tonal range as ideally suited to monochrome art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e**This inkstick is a limited edition product, and the quantity is limited. There may be cases where Kobaien does not have any stock of this inkstick after you have placed your order, in which case we will cancel your order in its entirety. Please accept our apologies.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/0740\/4224\/files\/IMG_1121_feffc579-78f2-46a6-b522-a36f78eb49e5.jpg?v=1793538227\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/0740\/4224\/files\/IMG_1126_eefeb17f-59d5-404d-bcb4-f2c989e168b8.jpg?v=1793538182\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"★Kobaien Sumi Ink Stick Shop by Ichi Inc., Japan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50654521524416,"sku":"gykb-mandai","price":107.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/0740\/4224\/files\/IMG_1121.jpg?v=1793414207","url":"https:\/\/the-worlds-oldest-inkstick.jp\/products\/mandai-paulownia-oil-inkstick-red-purplish-black","provider":"★Kobaien Sumi Ink Stick Shop by Ichi Inc., Japan","version":"1.0","type":"link"}