Pilot Makie Fountain Pen Mt.Fuji M Nib

November 13, 2012 - Art, Stationery - Tagged: ebay, Pen, Ukiyoe

Pilot Fountain Pen, Flat Lacquered and Polished, “Akafuji” (“Red Mt. Fuji”)

“Red Mt. Fuji”: Mt. Fuji dyed red with the rising sun around the late summer to the early autumn, inspiring many artists. Among all of them, the Red Mt. Fuji by Hokusai, an ukiyo-e artist, is the most famous.

[About Lacquered (Maki-e) Fountain Pens]

In the early 20th century, the penholder of fountain pens was made of ebonite, which would in time change to brown and lose luster. After years of study, we focused on durability of lacquer ware, and developed the material applicable for fountain pens. We named it lacquernite and obtained patents in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and France, enhancing the fame of Pilot Fountain Pens. In addition, we furnished them with Maki-e, a Japanese traditional lacquer art, for the European and American market of the high-end fountain pens. In 1926, Mr. Gonroku Matsuda, who later become a professor of Tokyo University of Arts and living national treasure, joined the company as a Maki-e instructor, organizing the manufacturing group named “Kokkokai” with more than 80 Maki-e artists, in-house or not, and instructed them for improvement of designs and skills. Keeping the legacy of that time, the Maki-e artists of today carefully finish the pens, one by one, with their accumulated skills under the name of “Kokkokai.”