Pilot Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Ink 15ml - Asa-gao (Morning Glory)
Asa-gao means morning glory, and this ink earns the name. It is a deep blue that leans toward purple, drawn from the colours of a newly opening morning glory blossom. It sits in interesting territory: more saturated than most standard royal blues, with just enough turquoise warmth to keep it from feeling flat or cold. On paper, it reads as rich, confident, and unmistakably Japanese in its sensibility.
The name Iroshizuku combines the Japanese words iro (colour), expressing the high standards and range of the palette, and shizuku (droplet), evoking water falling from a surface. Each ink in the collection takes its name and character from a specific plant, landscape or natural phenomenon found in Japan - not as a marketing exercise, but as a genuine design brief for the hue itself.
On the page
Asa-gao dries in around 15 seconds on quality paper, which is solidly dependable across most nib sizes. Feathering is low, shading is medium, and on Tomoe River paper, large swabs reveal a faint reddish-copper sheen - a subtle reward for those who write with a generous hand. The Iroshizuku line is among the easiest fountain pen inks to clean from a pen, which matters if you like to rotate colours or maintain several pens at once. Flow is on the wetter side, which suits a broad range of nibs and makes it particularly pleasurable to write with.
The bottle
The heavy clear glass bottle has a wide mouth that accommodates most fountain pen nibs, including larger ones, making filling clean and straightforward. The base features a small conical recess: as the ink runs low, tilting the bottle draws the remaining ink into this depression so you can fill right to the last drop. It is a small detail, but one that reflects the care taken throughout the Iroshizuku line. The bottle looks as considered on a desk as it performs in a pen.
What to expect
The 15ml format suits writers who like to keep several inks in rotation without committing to a full 50ml bottle. It travels well, stores neatly, and gives you a genuine sense of the ink before you decide to go larger
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