Kuretake Gansai Tambi are vibrant watercolours used in Japan to colour paintings made with sumi black ink. While they can be applied very dilute like classic "western" watercolours, these paints are naturally more opaque and more akin to gouache paint. They are most effective when they are just wet enough to flow, and if necessary they can be applied in layers, wet on dry, to reach maximum intensity. The colours dry with a lacquer-like sheen and can be used on coloured paper as well as white. We have a set of 12 colours, a set of 6 metallic "Starry" colours, and a set of 6 opalescent "Opal" colours, which shimmer different colours as the direction of the light changes.