Why Japanese Calligraphy Ink Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Insider Business

this isinkitsubu okabe is needing it until it'sas soft as a rice cakeit's imperative for him to be asthorough as possible because a wellneeded mixture becomes high qualitycalligraphy inkit takes at least four years of Agingbefore these solid ink sticks can besold and even longer for the mostexpensive onesa 200 gram high grade ink stick fromthis producer Corbin costs over athousand dollars and for some otherbrands prices can reach almost twothousand dollarsmeanwhile almost double the amount ofcommercial liquid India ink can go forless than nine dollarsso why are solid ink sticks so soughtafterand why they're so expensive[Music]it's January in Japan's narrowprefectureink producer Corbin has been makingJapanese calligraphy ink for 450 yearsthis type of ink also known as Sumi istraditionally sold in the form ofhandmade solid ink sticksto use the drying stick calligraphersrub it on an ink Stone to mix it withwaterto me ink is typically black but it canalso be tinted brown or bluethe ingredients are simplesoot animal glue and perfumebut the quality of these materials andthe time intensive techniques requiredto collect and process them have a largeimpact on the final price[Music]it starts in this room lit by a hundredoil lampsthis Workshop has four rooms like thiswhere Artisans produce all the soot theyrequire to make inktwo workers are in charge of this stageeach overseeing two rooms and 200 oillampsthey carefully manage the vegetable oilin the Lambs and gradually collect sootthroughout the dayin Japan this process is called catchingsmokeevery day Artisans light all 400 lampsand cover each with a lid the undersideof which collects soot as the oil burnsbut they can't just leave the lid in thesame place for hours because overheatingit will prevent such from accumulatingthe flame must be off-center and TheArtisans must rotate the lid every 20minutes for two hours[Music]The Artisans scrape the soot off the topof the lid they replenish the oil andthe process starts all overfor a total of five times a day for eachlampthese lamps contain rapeseed oil themost common Choice when producing highgrade ink sticksink sticks made of soot from even moreexpensive oils like Polonia Camellia orSesame can easily cost up to four timesas muchbut Artisans must also consider otherdetails like the containers that holdthe oil and the material of the wigto ensure the quality of the soot theyuse non-porous earthenware containerscraftspeople in this Workshop even weavethe Wicks themselves to exactingspecifications[Music]foreignthe fineness of the soot grainsdetermines the final pricethen there's the binding agent animalglueunlike most of its modern Liquid Inkcounterparts which use shellac Sumi inktypically uses cattle gluefor the most expensive ink sticksArtisans sometimes mix in other types ofglue such as monkey deer and goatsays this improves the Ink's glossinessand texturethe company buys glue specially made forSumi ink which comes in a dry board-likeformArtisans dissolve it by mixing it with70 degrees Celsius water which takesover an hour and a halfaccording to kobayan dissolving the glueslowly at a low temperature is key toproducing quality inkforeignforeignmakers add fragrance like Borneo andmusk to counteract itis[Music]the next step is to knead to the sootglue and fragrance into a soft doughthe dough is needed every morningby handand footSu takes care to knead it thoroughly sothe soot and glow are evenly distributedthat way the solid stick can eventuallydissolve into homogeneous Liquid Ink[Music]once he's properly kneaded the doughdoshitsugu cuts it into bowls and weighsthem for consistencythen he places the balls into molds anduses a machine to press them into shapeimproperly kneaded dough results in inksticks that don't produce Rich color[Music]um[Music]foreignmakes about 6 000 of its smallesthighest quality ink sticks a monthit employs a handful of artisans forthis and the ones tasked with kneadingrequire the most experienceit takes five years to train as a sumiink craftsperson but 10 years beforethey're allowed to make high quality ink[Music]core by n produces almost 40 000 of itssmallest Sami ink sticks between Octoberand April when the cooler weather ofwinter ensures the glue can Hardenduring shapingbut the work isn't done yetdrying the ink sticks too quickly willcause them to crack making themunsellableso Artisans rely on a traditionaltechnique using Oak Ash to slowly absorbmoisture from the sticks over a longperiod of timethey start by covering the sticks inmoist asheseach day they swap yesterday's asheswith dryer onesthey repeat this process for up to 40days until the ink sticks are about 70percent dryafter they hang the sticks with strawand air dry them in-house for up to sixmonthsproperly drying and maturing an inkstick takes at least four yearsthe longer the sticks dry and age thebetter they perform and the moreexpensive they becomeitself has ink sticks that are hundredsof years oldforeignforeignArtisans polish them and apply thefinishing touchesnow they're ready to be sold tocalligraphers like shijo asakamicalligraphers like shijo traditionallyprefer ink sticks to Liquid Inkbut in order to write with a sumi inkstick he must first transform it into aliquidthis requires an ink Stone and watershijo adds a small amount of water andrubs the ink stick on the stone breakingit aparthe mixes the two to make the Liquid Inkadding more water or more dry ink untilhe gets the consistency he needs[Music]over 30 monthsyou knowbut not all Sumi inks provide him withthe same writing experienceforeign95 of Japan's Sumi ink is made here inNADA prefectureSumi ink production in Japan is said tohave begun in the 7th century whenChinese ink making methods wereintroduced by monksby the 14th century Sumi ink use wasflourishing in Japanthough its primary use is forcalligraphy it's also often used for inkpaintings known as sumiereand because kobayan must age its inksticks for several years before it cansell them consistent production isnecessary or else its Supply won't meetthe demandbut that doesn't mean the company wantsto ramp up its productionsstrives to continue making calligraphyink using the same techniques and of thesame quality as its foundersum