We’ll move away from talking about the calligraphy pen for the moment and concentrate our attention on another part of the calligraphy world. We had a look at the Japanese calligraphy brush in an earlier post so now we’ll take it a step further and talk about traditional Japanese or Chinese ink.

Traditionally calligraphy ink does not come in liquid form. In fact it is made as a solid stick of ink and the calligrapher grinds it on a suzuri, or slate ink stone, mixed with water to form the ink. It is acknowledged that bottled ink is an inferior product to the ink stick and calligraphers planning serious work will always prefer to make their own.

The ink stick is also known as Sumi ink and is made from a compressed mixture of soot, water and glue. There are 2 types of ink: yuen-boku which is a black ink made from lamp soot, and; Shoen-boku which is a slightly bluish ink made from pine soot.

How Is Ink Made

To make ink take the suzuri and pour a little water onto it. Take the ink stick and, holding it upright you begin describing small circles on the stone using light pressure. Continue with the rubbing motion until the ink becomes blacker and thicker. Add some more water if necessary and continue grinding. The amount of water you use is dependent on the amount of ink you think you will need to finish your calligraphy.

You are looking for the ink to become thick and a deep black color. To determine whether the ink has reached the right consistency you are looking for oily trails to form on the ink stone. Listen to the grinding noise of the ink stick on the surface of the suzuri, the grinding will become muffled and softer which will tell you that you have made ink that will be ready to begin your calligraphy work.

Naturally, it’s going to take some time to learn to make your ink correctly with many factors determining the right thickness.

Caring For Your Ink Stick

Take care when handling your ink stick. If it is dropped it will break. When grinding you must be careful to ensure that the stick is held straight and you don’t rub in such a way that the stick will become inclined.

Make sure you use cold water when making ink. Warm water on the stick will cause the ink stick to crack.

When you’ve finished with the ink stick, dry it with absorbent paper or a cloth and then wrap it up in paper and store it in a cool dry place. Ideally you should store your ink stick somewhere that is not affected by changes in temperature or humidity. It’s like storing good quality wine, in fact, if you have a wine cellar it wouldn’t hurt to find a little spot to place your ink sticks there too.

Just as important as caring for your ink stick is the care of your ink stone. Old ink left on the surface of the stone will dry into the gritty fissures of the stone. You don’t want to mix old ink with newly ground ink so be sure to thoroughly wash the surface of the ink stone before new ink is rubbed.

Finally, make sure you don’t leave the wet ink stick sitting on the ink stone. The glue in the stick will adhere to the surface of the stone and will damage the surface.