I was a bit too late to get these listed in the Thursday drops post, but I spent most of the day before flying out to the Chicago Planner Conference swatching and photographing the entire line of Teranishi Guitar inks, fresh in from Japan! (Technically, the official name for the line is the “Teranishi Guitar Taisho Roman Haikara” inks, but let’s just go with “Teranishi Guitar” for the sake of brevity in today’s post.)
I love the presentation on these inks - I rarely pay much attention to boxes but the artwork looks nice and the bottles seal well.
The inks are manufactured by Teranishi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd, which is a Japanese maker of markers and art supplies located in Osaka, and while they have been popular in Japan for years, they’re less commonly available in the United States. I’m happy to be able to offer them (and, if I’m honest, to have the opportunity to play around with the entire line). Based on my initial swatching and review, here are my five favorite colors so far
Teranishi Guitar Gentle Green
So far, my favorite of the bunch. The color-shifting and sheening properties are similar to Taccia Hokusai-sabimidori, though the tones lean more green.
Teranishi Guitar Antique Black
An off-black with reddish/sepia undertones (depending on the paper)? Count me in. The reddish sheen here is particularly pronounced on the Col-o-ring card I used to swatch the ink.
Teranishi Guitar Smoky Navy
This dark blue has a LOT of depth, with grey and red in addition to navy coming through.
Teranishi Guitar Brilliant Mint
Brilliant Mint might be the sleeper of this line: it’s appearance ranges from mint to aqua to more of a turquoise, depending on paper and lighting.
Teranishi Guitar Classy Burgundy
The maroons and burgundies might be my favorite color family, and it’s hard to find one without too much brown or red or purple. Teranishi’s take is fairly well-balanced and what I would call a classic burgundy ink. I’m really looking forward to writing with this one.
Teranishi guitar Initial Impressions and Purchase Details
Based on my initial tests, the Teranishi Guitar inks behave quite well, with excellent flow and good depth of color. As you can see from the pictures above, several of the inks will show a fair amount of sheen on some papers, though it’s not overwhelming, and these inks all had reasonable dry times with the Kakimori Brass Nib I use for my ink swatches. If I had to draw a comparison between the Teranishi Guitar inks and others I’ve used in the past, I would point to Taccia and Sailor inks as comparable options.
Guess what I chose for my Fountain Pen Day 2024 present to self? A Green Lamy 2k! I paired it with Teranishi Gentle Green and love the combination.
The Teranishi inks are priced at $23 for a 40ml bottle, and as of now all 16 colors are available for purchase in our shop, both online and in-person. Please check this page for updated brick-and-mortar hours. I typically update the shop hours on Monday for the coming week.
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