Pilot Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Ink - Fuyu-Syogun 50mL

I really adore this ink. It's got a nice character to it -- simple enough not to be distracting, but unusual enough to be interesting. There's a nice blue/purple tone to it. I use it with an extra fine nib on blank paper, and find it very legible.

Fuyu-Syogun is a beautiful medium grey which leans blue. It is a light or pale colour, with good saturation. It does well on blank paper, but the writing gets somewhat lost when using lined or grid paper, even if the ink lines of the ruling are faint, especially when using thinner nibs. I like it most on white paper.

Despite it being a light ink, there is some ghosting on thinner papers, as it is fairly saturated. I’ve observed no sheen; some shading is present, from very little to pronounced, depending on pen and paper combo. I’ve seen no feathering, no bleedthrough. Fuyu-Syogun has great flow and coats the nib well. It replaced my J. Herbin Gris Nuage: it has the same tone, is more saturated, doesn’t dry flat, and is definitely more usable for daily writing in a wet nib: it does very well in my Sailor 1911L 21 kt H-B as it gives me a nicely saturated, crisp, contained line, and dries quickly.

To my eye, both Iroshizuku and Fuyu-Syogun and Kiri-Same are greys that lean on the cool side, the first, bluer, the second, more purple.

Not the first Pilot Iroshizuku ink I’ve tried, but like the Shin-kai, this is a beautiful, sumptuous ink that starts without a hiccup and goes down wet, smooth, and vibrant. These Pilot inks may have ruined other inks for me, in fact. Unlike the previous reviewers, I haven’t noticed a lot of shading -- maybe that’s because I’m using it with my TWSBI stub nib, or then again, it might have nothing to do with the nib. It was either that or a Noodler’s flex nib.

Whatever. At first it appeared quite dark, almost charcoal, but after a few lines it settled into its current pattern of a rich medium grey with dark blue overtones. Tone leans more cold than warm, but like any colour-related question, that’s a matter of taste. While it’s heavy enough to be effortlessly legible, it might be a tad light for office use if you care about that sort of thing, but for me that’s a minor distraction. I never thought a grey could be this gorgeous.

(Note: Ordered a sample.)
I have a thing for colour-coding my stories as I write them, and I must say, this is a lovely ink to write with. Not only is the colour lovely -- a cold grey leaning more to being a desaturated blue -- but it shades beautifully and is dark enough to read with ease. Definitely plan on ordering a full bottle.

Fuyu-Syogun ink is definitely worth trying out if you like having beautiful shades of different colours. It is a medium grey leaning towards blue shade. It has beautiful shading, even when using fine nibs and dries quickly.

This ink is also very beuatiful ink to draw with. You can achieve nice grey-scale washes with it. In some cases it looks like pencil drawings, except it will not smear after it's dry.