Sumi Ink Sticks

For more than a thousand years, the method of making Sumi sticks has remained the same. Sumi sticks are made from pine soot or certain vegetable oils mixed with animal or fish glue. It is then molded and dried to form a well-shaped solid block which, when ground on a Suzuri stone with water, turns to ink. They produce the famous Five Colors, or shades of black, that form the basis of “monochromatic” Sumi painting.