Minista, a creator of inspiring suzuri (inkstones). I create inkstones that make grinding ink enjoyable and make writing and painting even more fun. This is an Amatani suzuri (inkstone) that has been tuned by Minista (reworking the ink well and ink surface to improve the inkstone's performance). The back of the inkstone is engraved with "Amatani". This is an inkstone by the 12th generation inkstone craftsman, Yahei Amemiya, of Amatani Suzuri Honpo in Yamanashi Prefecture. Mr. Yahei is the son of the 11th generation Seiken. Looking at the inkstone, you can see the craftsman's personality; he is a very serious person. He carefully selects the stone and makes the inkstones with care. Compared to Seiken, who focused on design, he makes inkstones with better stone selection and craftsmanship. While his designs lack the flair of his father's, I love Mr. Yahei's approach to inkstone making. As his approach suggests, This inkstone, just by looking at it, has a well-organized stone pattern, and the stone is well-selected with few irregularities. Moreover, it is made seriously and carefully. While he is not as well-known as his father, the quality of an inkstone is determined not by the name, but by the maker's personality and their approach to inkstones. It is a definite mistake to say that the inkstones of popular people are good. You need to look deeper, at each craftsman, and at their work at that time. It grinds ink smoothly and comfortably, as a Japanese inkstone should. The ink grinds very well, and the ink color is also good. The ink spreads well when applied, and you can use it from dark ink to light ink, allowing you to write good lines. It is a good inkstone for both oil soot ink and pine soot ink. It is suitable for kana (Japanese syllabary, ~half-cut paper), kanji (~half-paper), sumi-e (ink wash painting), and sutra copying. It is a wide, horizontal Japanese inkstone size called "Shihei," and it is easy to grind ink for its size. For smaller inkstones, I feel that Shihei has the best balance of weight and usability. Size: 12.2 x 7.5 x 2.0 cm Weight: 416g * If you purchase ink together, we offer a 300 yen discount per ink stick. * The shipping method is undecided, but we use Mercari shipping. #Minista Suzuri (Inspiring Inkstones) ↑ Click here for a list of inkstones. It is easier to see if you check "Show only items on sale." Inkstone tuning: Improving the performance of ink grinding, ink color, ink spread, ink release, and ink grinding to enable good calligraphy and painting. It is often said that it feels like your calligraphy and painting skills have improved. I think ink consumption will be about 2/3 to 1/2. Calligraphy Calligraphy tools Suzuri Inkstone Kana Kanji Sutra copying Japanese painting Sumi-e Ink painting Letter art Tankei inkstone Japanese inkstone Brush Ink Inkstone Paper