Signature of the soul: Sumi ink stones

So much more than ink: Japanese sumi ink artisans have innovated this traditional product into something incredible. (Kinkoen)

Sumi ink has been produced in Japan for over 1,200 years. Production methods were brought by Buddhist monks from China to Japan’s then-capital of Nara, where Japanese artisans quickly adopted the material into a true craft.

Made from soot, sumi ink starts life as a gelatinous clay-like substance, left to dry for years before being sold as ‘ink stones,’ which writers turn into liquid ink using an ink stick and water. This process releases a distinctive sumi scent, an aroma which many in Japan find soothing, with a hint of nostalgia.

Kinkoen is situated in history-steep Nara, former capital of Japan. (Kinkoen)

Atsushi Nagano is head artisan at Kinkoen, an ink studio in the city of Nara with over 150 years of history. His skills have been passed down over seven generations, with each ink master iterating on the innovations that came before them.

Before kneading the raw ink into its final form, Nagano adds a special fragrance to better frame the scent of the gelatin that acts as a binder, holding the soot together. After kneading, Nagano shapes the soft ink into a cylinder, before pressing it into its final form using one of his many exquisite wooden molds.

The molds are extremely delicate, and can take up to a year for Nagano to complete. Even a single mistake can render the carving ruined. The results, however, speak for themselves.

Touches of flair such as gold leaf are added before being left to dry out and harden naturally over a period of up to two years.

While sumi ink is traditionally for writing, Nagano had a realization one day when talking to a loyal customer. The customer told Nagano that they were not in fact using the ink for writing but instead as a relaxation tool. The ink stones were being used in much the same way as incense, only with water instead of fire.

Nagano decided that to cater to this new demand, he would create stones in new shapes with the express purpose of heightening the ink’s soothing fragrances, in what he calls the Asuka series. Asuka was once the capital of Japan, during the aptly named Asuka period, during which time the production of sumi ink became common.

The stones are in the shape of Gigaku masks, once worn during masked dance performances during the Asuka period.

Other shapes recreate traditional Japanese sweets, and of course regular ink stones for writing. Materials range from burnt pine to sesame, rapeseed, and mineral oils, and even some with blue pigment.

While ink has long been a tool of choice for calligraphists and artists of the written word, it takes a truly artistic spirit to turn this humble material into art itself.

Atsushi Nagano’s artisanal ink stones make him a true artist’s artist. (Kinkoen)