Pilot iroshizuku Fountain Pen Ink Cartridge - Yama-budo

Pilot Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Ink Cartridges - Yama-budo (Crimson Glory Vine)

Yama-budo takes its name from the crimson glory vine, a wild plant whose ripe berries glow with an almost implausible intensity against the autumn forest.

Pilot has captured that same quality here: a deep, saturated magenta that leans toward fuchsia in finer lines and deepens into a complex purplish redwhen laid down with a broader or wetter nib. Push the saturation far enough and a soft gold-green sheen emerges from the page, one of those quiet rewards that dedicated fountain pen users come to recognise and look for.

The Iroshizuku line launched in 2007 and has remained one of the most respected ink collections in the world of fine writing instruments, not through marketing but through performance.

These cartridges bring that same formulation into a format that is genuinely practical: no bottles, no syringes, no risk of spillage in a bag or desk drawer. Each cartridge holds 0.8 ml of ink and is individually labelled with the colour name, which is a small but considered detail that matters when you keep more than one colour on hand.

The packaging echoes the design language of the glass Iroshizuku bottles, with a sliding inner tray and an internal latch that prevents it from pulling free entirely. It is the kind of considered presentation that reflects the seriousness with which Pilot treats this line.

Ink character and performance
Yama-budo flows on the wet side, which contributes to the smoothness that fountain pen users consistently mention in connection with this colour. Drying time on quality paper runs to around 20 seconds for most line weights, which is reasonable for a well-saturated ink.

Water resistance is low, so this is not an ink for documents that need to last in unpredictable conditions, but for correspondence, journalling, and everyday writing it performs with consistency and ease.

Shading is present and noticeable: the ink moves between lighter and darker values depending on the speed and pressure of the stroke, giving handwriting a liveliness that flat, uniform inks cannot match.

Compatibility
These are proprietary Pilot and Namiki cartridges and fit Pilot and Namiki cartridge or converter fountain pens. They are not standard international cartridges. If you are unsure whether your pen is compatible, check that it accepts Pilot proprietary cartridges before ordering.

What is in the box
Each box contains six ink cartridges, each holding 0.8 ml of Yama-budo ink. Total ink volume per box: 4.8 ml.

Who this is for
Yama-budo is a colour with genuine character. It is bold without being aggressive, complex enough to reward attention, and flattering across a wide range of paper tones from bright white to warm ivory. It suits those who want something beyond blue or black but are not interested in novelty for its own sake. This is a mature, well-resolved colour that happens to be made by one of the most trusted names in fountain pen ink.