This ink stick is produced with a quiet tone, and in order to add the lightness, animal glue is mixed and kneaded with oil soot. Thus, it has a unique graceful color of sumi with a tinge of white light. The drying time for this ink stick is as long as that of the traditional Ink Sticks of Hyakusenboku, but this ink stick shows separation of the shin (the core, the stroke by the brush) and the nijimi (the blurring part around the shin) quicker, about one or two years after it is produced. About five years after production, the harmony between the shin (the core, the stroke by the brush) and the nijimi (the blurring part around the shin), brightness of the color of sumi, thickness, and graceful beauty will all become clear. It has only one weak point of being luscious whereas we are aiming to get rid of this lusciousness shortly. The color is chestnut purplish black. When used as usuzumi (thin black sumi), the mixture of mineral oil soot creates the harmony of the color of sumi to express a calm, graceful, and warm color. When used as kozumi (thick black ink stick), it can create deep, attractive, complex, and matte beautiful black, and seen at a distance, it looks thick and rich. It can be used with any shade of black, thick, medium, or thin, for Kanji (Chinese characters), Kana (Japanese syllabary characters), Shosuji (two or several characters), and modern poems, but especially when it is used as the extremities of extra thick black ink stick or extra thin black sumi, the characteristics of this ink stick will develop favorably. Manufactured in 1987.