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Sailor

Sailor Shikiori Tama-tebako Ink - 20mL Bottle

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  • Regular price $18.00
  • Reach $60 to qualify for free U.S. shipping.
  • Will be in stock after November 15, 2024


The latest releases from the Sailor Shikiori Inks are inspired by traditional Japanese fairy tales that associates with the four seasons respectively. They are also designed as companion inks to the Shikiori Pro Gear Slim Fairy Tale series. The four fairy tale ink colors include: Tama-tebako(玉手箱), Kasasagi(鵲), Sube-rakashi(垂髪), and Kazakiri-bane(風切羽). 

Tamatebako(玉手箱) stands for jeweled hand box, which is a treasure box given to Urashima Taro from the princess of the Dragon Palace. The subdued navy reminds people of the fantasy Urashima Taro experienced underwater. ‘Kasasagi(鵲)’ means magpie, which represents the magpie bridge where Shokujo(Vega Star) is supposed to meet Kengyu(Herdboy Star) on Tanabata festival every summer. The dark teal perfectly interprets the feather colors of the flock. ‘Sube-rakashi(垂髪)’ stands for dangling hair, and the ink color illustrates the scene when moonlight glistens on the hair of Princess Kaguya, the princess found in a shining bamboo stalk, and eventually returned to her otherworldly palace on Moon Festival. ‘Kazakiri-bane(風切羽)’ embodies the tale ‘Crane's Return of a Favor’ and symbolizes the feather color of the departing crane on a winter day. 

About Sailor:

Sailor was founded in 1911. The founder Kyugoro Sakata was given a fountain pen by a friend returning from the UK after studying at the Royal Navy. He was inspired and determined to start making fountain pens in Japan. Sailor became the first fountain pen company in Japan, and earned many more firsts in Japan -- first ballpoint pen in 1948, first ink cartridge in 1954 and first brush pen in 1972, etc.

In the 1970's, Sailor made a popular beginner fountain pen, "Candy," that sold more than 15 million within a few years. However, the number of the fountain pen users were declining as ballpoint pens became more mainstream.

In 1981, Sailor decided to go in the opposite direction from their "Candy" pen and began focusing on producing a higher standard series, which is the 1911 series we see today. Their focus on making a higher standard provides a great foundation for their later series of pens. Today, Sailor makes one of the most diverse lines of nibs, some of which are designed for specific writing purposes such as writing musical notes to one that is best for character writing.