Japanese Fountain Pens
If there is a place in the world where tradition and modernity go hand in hand in a perfect union, that is, without a doubt, Japan. A country that has been able to combine to perfection the ancestral handcrafted mastery of the Far East with the means of production and the technological innovation of the West.
Among many other practices, their ancient tradition in the art of calligraphy and drawing has led to the creation of authentic works of art which, with their beautiful ideograms and delicate ornamental motifs inspired by nature, continues to move us by its enormous originality and indescribable beauty. This is joined by a vast knowledge in working with materials such as the lacquer, noble woods or the nacre, activity in which, as it is well known, Japan is a point of reference at a worldwide level. It is therefore not surprising that with this impressive substrate the country of the Rising Sun is currently one of the major powers in the manufacture of fountain pens.
Although, in general, we are faced with companies which are not so veteran as those of other origins, like the considered "Big Three" Japanese brands of writing instruments: Sailor, which began its activity in 1911; Pilot, founded in 1918; and, finally, Platinum, created by Shunichi Nakata a year later; this relative youth has not prevented them from knowing how to embrace with great accuracy the aforementioned artisanal tradition of Japanese culture to their creations. A good example of this would be the incorporation in 1925, of the centenary lacquered technique Maki-e by the brand Namiki, maximum exponent in this area, with their pieces made entirely by hand using laborious processes that involve months of work and make each fountain pen a unique work.
And all this without abandoning its innovative spirit in the search, from the first moment, of new technological solutions such as the “hose” charging system or the fountain pen with retractable capless nib, devised by Pilot in the middle of the last century.
