Seien Koukaboku Inkstick ( 聖煙紅花墨 )

Seien — "holy soot" — sits at the top of Koukaboku's six grades, the finest the 1739 Nagasaki exchange between Kobaien and Qing-dynasty ink masters has ever produced.

Ground from rapeseed-oil soot refined to its smallest, most even particles, it spreads with unusual ease across the stone: pressed dark, it turns a lustrous, near-black sheen; thinned, it settles into a warm, brownish black rather than flat grey.

One customer, new to owning a stick of this grade, described the experience simply as an honour to work with — the kind of ink that makes each grinding session feel less like preparation and more like part of the work itself.

The meaning of the product name is as follows: 

聖 ( sei : holy )

煙 ( en : soot, smoke)

紅 ( kou : crimson )

花 ( ka: flower )

墨 ( boku : ink )