Saibiboku - Kobaien Sumi Watercolor Palette

20 Color Palette

Kissho in Kyoto, which has a long history as a manufacturer of genuine materials for traditional Japanese painting (Nihon-ga), and Kobaien, which has produced sumi inkstick in Nara since the end of the Muromachi period (1577), have jointly succeeded in research and development of Gansai ( Traditional Japanese watercolor ) called "Saibiboku"

A mixture of Kobaien's Five Star Koukaboku, a high-grade rapeseed oil ink produced using a method handed down 400 years ago, and reducing it to a fine particle state using a unique method with Kissho's Gansai. 

The unique feature is that each color has a soft and gentle expression, unlike the strong tones of the primary colors. The precise mixing of Kobaien's "Sumi" made from natural raw materials "soot" and "glue" with traditional "Gansai" ingredients by "Kissho" has resulted in very smooth and beautiful color shades. The glue contained in the sumi ink is also significant in this effect, allowing a very wide range of color tones to be expressed, from dark to light.