Introduction

Tarashikomi is the technique of dropping darker sumi (charcoal) ink onto a lighter layer of ink before it dries, surrendering the artist’s control of the effect in order to let the darker ink organically blend into the lighter ink. Tawaraya Sōtatsu used the tarashikomi technique in Dragons and Clouds to bring a pair of mythical dragons to life as they slither in and out of clouds above waves. The contours of the lighter ink have been allowed to dry, so the different shades of ink can mingle instead of randomly spreading across the screen. 

No one knows exactly how this technique originated, but it’s possible artists may have started playing around with different shades of sumi ink because it was fun. Artists began using tarashikomi to express shapeless themes such as water and air and light and mist. 

Tarashikomi can also be used to blend colored pigments, but performing tarashikomi with only black sumi ink results in an especially magical effect. Whether with sumi ink or colored pigments, tarashikomi is a technique that results in an image that is simultaneously representational and abstract. It leaves the interpretation of the image up to viewers’ imaginations, just like when we stare at a stain on a wall or watch a cloud in the sky and imagine it looks like something real.