Why Japanese Calligraphy ‘Sumi-e’ Ink Is so Expensive?

Krispin Joseph PX

Do you know which calligraphy ink is the most expensive worldwide? Sumi-e, one of the most costly calligraphy ink produced by traditional ink makers in Japan, is the most expensive ink stick in the world. ‘Sumi’ (ink) and ‘e’ (painting) is the most costly because this inkstick are made traditionally, and some offer 400 years of durability. This ink-making technique and centuries-old drawing practice came to Japan from China through Buddhist monks, which still exists in Japan as much as in the traditional way.

Sumi-e has now become part of Japanese aesthetics; making and using this ink creates timeless beauty, regardless of style or method of painting. This ink-making and use are connected to Zen practice, and many Zen masters produce and use their ink as practice.

Japanese Zen master Shazo Sato wrote a book titled ‘Sumi- e: The Art Of Japanese Ink Painting’, and explains the Sume-e technique and aesthetics. According to Sato, Sumi-e is an art done in monochrome, using sumi ink and handmade paper. Sumi-e means “black ink painting” (sumi = black ink; e = painting). Sumi-e is a handmade ink-making practice that connects with handmade paper practice. Writing letters and literature has been a fascinating practice in ancient China for centuries. Zen Buddhist monks bring this intriguing ink with the preparation of making that ink in the fourteenth century.

The fascinating story of this ink starts from a room full of oil lambs that are lit all time, and workers manage the lamp with Rapeseed oil and collect the soot from the top of the oil lamp. For each lamp, they fix a tip cover to catch the soot; that process is called ‘Catching Smoke’. The making of ‘Sumi-e’ is a lengthy practice that depends on the oil quality used to light the lamp and the making process. Rapeseed oil is one of the most ancient oils and helps to get darker soot that brings the finest inkstick from it.

And Sumi-e ink-making masters produce different variations of black from various oils with different shades, representing the highest level of colour simplification. Some masters make blue ink from the soot of burned pine wood, and some make brown ink; oil from Paualownia, Camelia, and Seseme coast more than any other Sumi-e ink.

This traditional Japanese calligraphy ink is expensive because it takes at least four years to produce. A 200-gram high-grade ink bar from a producer like Kobaien costs over $1,000. And at some other retailers, prices can reach almost $2,000. Meanwhile, nearly double the amount of commercial India ink can go for as little as $9.