We’re in that stage of fall here in upstate New York where the foliage is on its way to vibrant, and homes are decorated with pumpkins and richly colored mums, so I’ve followed suit by filling pens with inks in bright autumnal hues, which is to say I’ve got a lot of oranges going on right now.
This nearly full bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku ina-ho was included in the Week #38 bundle of ink that I unwrapped a couple of weekends ago. I’m typically inking my pens with heavily saturated colors and ina-ho is certainly not that. But I really appreciate the way it represents the subtler colors of fall.
The ink’s name translates to “rice ear” and if you Google “rice ear,” you’ll see that it’s pretty much a dead ringer. There’s no rice growing in my neighborhood, but I found a local match in the dried cornstalks in our community garden when I was up there this afternoon. New York’s equivalent of “rice ear”? I think so.
I’ve been journaling with ina-ho in the “flamed” Diplomat Aero (also fall-appropriate) with a delightfully smooth broad steel nib, and I think they make a fine pair. A bit of shading. Fall-like in an understated way, and a nice change from all of those saturated inks, as well as a leap outside of my beloved blue comfort zone.
As I poked around online while writing this post, I learned that Pilot discontinued the ina-ho color in February of 2022, which makes me love the color a little bit more.
There’s something to be said for subtle, isn’t there?
From the Pen Cup 
I love the ink color! A few days ago, I inked up my two most autumnal-looking pens – one with brown and one with orange. Ah, the simple joy that comes from writing with them!
Same here!!
This ink has a way of growing on you. When I first used it, it looked a tad too yellow. So I put it away and went back to it after a few years and it really grew on me. Gorgeous color!
The other day I noticed a hint of green in when I hadn’t seen that before. It really DOES grow on you!
Thank you for this lovely post! I have so enjoyed using the subtle Iroshizuku ina-ho ink for fountain pen + waterbrush drawings of the autumnal colors of the banana leaves & stalks surrounding my porch. Yes! the dried cornstalks are a lovely ina-ho match—something about corn being the native equivalent of rice in the Americas makes that color match even sweeter for me. Unfortunately, I delayed purchasing the “full size” 50 oz bottle of ina-ho while using up my 15 oz bottle, and am just plain sad that it’s been discontinued.