--- title: "Kyoto Ink Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku: Celadon Dye Ink" canonical: "https://stationerytimes.com/guides/kyoto-ink-kyo-no-oto-hisoku-ink/" description: "Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku dye ink explained: a 40 ml bottle named for celadon green, made with a Kyoto dyeing institute, for fountain pens, dip pens and brushes." category: "Accessories" type: "Fountain pen ink" published: 2026-11-04 updated: 2026-11-04 author: "Ellis Penhale" publisher: "Stationery Times" sources: 4 products: - name: "Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku (KO-0107) dye ink, 40 ml" brand: "Kyoto Ink" brand_origin: "Japan" made_in: "Not stated" material: "Glass bottle; dye ink" price_band: "$$ ($5–20 per item, typical US retail, October 2026)" manufacturer: "TAKEDAJIMUKI Co., Ltd. (TAG Stationery), Kyoto" model: "Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku KO-0107" url: "https://store.tagstationery.jp/en/products/ko-0107" --- # Kyoto Ink Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku: Celadon Dye Ink > Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku is a 40 ml dye ink from TAG Stationery in Kyoto, listed by stores as Kyoto Ink. It is named for the pale grayish blue-green of celadon pottery and was developed with the Kyoto Plant Dyeing Laboratory. The maker lists it for fountain pens, pens and brushes, at 1,980 yen. - URL: https://stationerytimes.com/guides/kyoto-ink-kyo-no-oto-hisoku-ink/ - Category: Accessories - Author: Ellis Penhale - Published: 2026-11-04 - Updated: 2026-11-04 ![Squat 40 ml glass ink jar with a black cap and white label, beside its gray box and a turquoise patch, for Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku](https://stationerytimes.com/images/raster/kyoto-ink-kyo-no-oto-hisoku-ink-illustration-16x9.png?v=91644213) *Hisoku in its 40 ml jar and box, drawn in proportion; the turquoise is the box color.* Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times. Original drawing (SVG): . Drawings © 2026 Stationery Times, reusable with credit under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ## Product facts | Product | Brand | Brand origin | Made in | Material | Released | Price range (typical US retail, October 2026) | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku (KO-0107) dye ink, 40 ml | Kyoto Ink (by TAKEDAJIMUKI Co., Ltd. (TAG Stationery), Kyoto) | Japan | Not stated | Glass bottle; dye ink | – | $$: $5–20 per item | - Made in (Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku (KO-0107) dye ink, 40 ml): Not stated. The maker's product page and about page name Kyoto as the home of TAG Stationery but print no country of manufacture for the ink. - Good for: Journaling and planning. ## Key takeaways - The bottle holds 40 ml (1.35 fl oz), enough for about 100 fills of a 0.4 ml Pilot CON-40 converter or 50 of a 0.8 ml LAMY Z28. - Hisoku is part number KO-0107, the seventh color of the Kyo-no-Oto line; the box is marked No. 07. - On November 4, 2026 the maker's web store listed it at 1,980 yen (about US$12.50), in our $$ band ($5-20), and in stock. - It is a dye ink: the maker says it dissolves in water, so a water brush can blur or thin the line after writing. - The maker lists it for fountain pens, pens and brushes; it publishes no pH, dry-time or water-resistance figure. ## What is Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku? **Hisoku is the seventh color in Kyo-no-Oto, a line of dye inks from TAG Stationery in Kyoto, in a 40 ml (1.35 fl oz) glass bottle.** The box in the maker's photo carries the mark "No. 07" and the line's small bird logo; the shop's part number is KO-0107. "Kyo no Oto" means roughly "sounds of Kyoto", and the maker's English page calls it "Sounds of Kyoto". Stores and brand indexes list these inks under the name Kyoto Ink; the maker's own pages say TAG Stationery and TAKEDAJIMUKI Co., Ltd. ## Hisoku specs | Spec | Value | |---|---| | Maker | TAG Stationery, run by TAKEDAJIMUKI Co., Ltd., Kyoto | | Series and number | Kyo-no-Oto, KO-0107 | | Type | Dye ink | | Volume | 40 ml (1.35 fl oz), glass bottle | | Uses (maker) | Fountain pens, pens, brushes | | Water | Dissolves in water (maker); no waterproof claim | | pH, dry time, flow | Not stated | | Release date, made in | Not stated | | Price band | $$ ($5-20), 1,980 yen listed on November 4, 2026 (about US$12.50) | ## What color is Hisoku? **The maker describes it as a pale green like celadon ware, a grayish blue-green.** Its product photo shows the box with a turquoise wash, and the bottle looks nearly black until light passes through the thin ink at the edges. That turquoise is packaging artwork, not a swatch of the ink on paper, and the maker publishes no writing sample for Hisoku, so we cannot state the line color. Dye inks shift with the paper and nib, so test it on yours before judging. ## Who is Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku for? **It suits people who like to blur and thin their lines with water and want an inexpensive Japanese ink with a story behind the color name.** - **Journaling and planning:** the maker lists the 40 ml ink for fountain pens, pens and brushes, and says it dissolves in water so a water brush can blur or thin the color. Skip it if you need a waterproof or document ink: the maker's own description points the other way. ## Who made the Kyo-no-Oto series? **TAG Stationery developed it exclusively with the Kyoto Plant Dyeing Laboratory.** The maker describes that group as dyeing and weaving experts who research dyeing culture from traditional kimono dyeing to modern fiber art. The series recreates traditional Japanese colors used since the Heian period with modern techniques, and each color has its own name and story. The shop's Kyo-no-Oto collection held 30 products on November 4, 2026, which includes inks, fountain pens and sets. A shop sort by best selling put a web-store-only color first and Hisoku second among the inks. ## How many times can you fill a pen from one bottle? **A 40 ml bottle fills a Pilot CON-40 converter about 100 times.** The table divides the bottle by each filler's capacity and rounds down. | Filler | Holds | Fills per 40 ml | |---|---|---| | Pilot CON-40 converter | 0.4 ml | about 100 | | LAMY Z28 converter | 0.8 ml | about 50 | | TWSBI ECO piston | 1.76 ml | about 22 | ![Bar for the 40 ml Hisoku bottle with fills per bottle for three fillers](https://stationerytimes.com/images/kyoto-ink-kyo-no-oto-hisoku-ink-fills.svg?v=a3d2229e) *One 40 ml bottle, and how many fills of three common fillers it holds. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.* See the [Pilot CON-40](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/pilot-con-40-converter/) and [LAMY Z28](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/lamy-z28-converter/) guides for the converters. ## How does Hisoku compare with other Japanese inks? **At 40 ml it sits between the 20 ml of [Sailor Shikiori](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/sailor-shikiori-yama-dori/) bottles and the 50 ml of [Pilot Iroshizuku](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/pilot-iroshizuku-kon-peki/).** Kyo-no-Oto publishes no shading, flow or dry-time numbers, so we cannot rank Hisoku against them. For the properties people compare, see [fountain pen ink properties explained](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/fountain-pen-ink-properties-explained/), and for sibling Kyoto colors the [Kyo-iro Cherry Blossom of Keage](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/kyoto-ink-kyo-iro-cherry-blossom-of-keage-ink/) guide. ## Where is Kyoto Ink made, and what does it cost? **The maker does not say where the ink is made.** TAG Stationery is based in Kyoto (Shimogyo-ku), but no country of manufacture is printed on the product page. On November 4, 2026 the maker's own web store listed Hisoku at 1,980 yen, about US$12.50 at US$1 = 158 yen, and in stock. Prices and stock vary by shop; we place it in the $$ band. Another pen made for the same color is the [Hisoku fountain pen](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/kyoto-ink-kyo-no-oto-hisoku-fountain-pen/). ## Frequently asked questions ### How much ink is in a bottle of Kyo-no-Oto Hisoku? 40 ml (1.35 fl oz). TAG Stationery prints "Capacity: 40ml" on the product page. ### What does Hisoku mean? The maker says hisoku is the pale green of celadon ware, a grayish blue-green, named for the mysterious beauty that is unique to pottery. ### Is Hisoku a dye ink or a pigment ink? A dye ink. The maker's page says the Kyo-no-Oto series is a dye ink that exploits the bleeding of dyes to give light-to-dark gradation, and that it dissolves in water. ### Can you use Hisoku with a brush or dip pen? The maker lists the uses as fountain pens, pens and brushes, and says a water brush can blur or thin the color after you write. ### Is Hisoku waterproof? No claim is made, and the maker says the opposite for effect: the ink dissolves in water, so expect it to run on a wet page. ### Who developed the Kyo-no-Oto series? The maker says the dye ink was developed exclusively by TAG Stationery with the Kyoto Plant Dyeing Laboratory, a group of dyeing and weaving experts. ### Where is Kyoto Ink made? Not stated. TAG Stationery, run by TAKEDAJIMUKI Co., Ltd., is based in Kyoto, but its product pages print no country of manufacture. ### How many fills does one Hisoku bottle give? About 100 fills of a 0.4 ml Pilot CON-40 converter, 50 of a 0.8 ml LAMY Z28 or 22 of a 1.76 ml TWSBI ECO, from dividing 40 ml by each capacity. ## Sources - [TAG Stationery: Sounds of Kyoto | Secret Color (Hisoku), KO-0107, 40 ml, 1,980 yen, in stock, read November 4, 2026 (English page)](https://store.tagstationery.jp/en/products/ko-0107) - [TAG Stationery: Kyo-no-Oto series, KYONOOTO collection (30 products) and best-selling order, read November 4, 2026](https://store.tagstationery.jp/collections/kyonooto) - [TAG Stationery: store home (operator TAKEDAJIMUKI Co., Ltd., Kyoto)](https://store.tagstationery.jp/) - [MADE in JAPAN.JP: TAG STATIONERY brand profile (independent media; address and company name)](https://made-in-japan.jp/en/tagstationery/)