Pilot Namiki Yukari Maki-e Fountain Pen - Pine Needles.
In Japan, pine trees (matsu), known for their resilience and adaptability, have long been associated with longevity and endurance. In the Shinto religion, the spirits of deities are believed to reside in pine trees, so there is always at least one pine on the grounds of shrines. Pine branches are also used to make kadomatsu (gate pine), traditional decorations for the New Year, that are placed around the entrances to homes to show the gods where to enter; this invites good fortune for the year to come. Namiki Yukari Pine Needles depicts finely detailed pine branches and needles in front of a background that features the traditional kōjitsunagi pattern inviting good luck and abalone-shell inlay.
Namiki Yukari Pine Needles was made with the Togidashi-Hira Maki-e technique (Burnished-Flat Maki-e). First, Togidashi Maki-e (Burnished Maki-e) is used: after the background and scenery are painted with lacquer, gold or silver powder is sprinkled over it and it is sealed with Urushi lacquer. After drying, the surface is lightly burnished with charcoal, revealing the design underneath. Then, Hira-Maki-e (Flat Maki-e) is used to render the main design through layers of metal powder and lacquer. Pine Needles was created by a group of artisans known as "Kokkokai," formed in 1931 around maki-e artist Gonroku Matsuda.
Namiki's Yukari Collection illustrates natural imagery of the four seasons through various techniques, often in combination, including Togidashi Maki-e, or burnished-raised maki-e, and Raden. The making of a Maki-e piece is an extremely labor- and time-intensive process involving a repetitive series of applying layers of lacquer, drawing the design outline, sprinkling gold and silver powders to fill in the designs, and polishing to achieve a lustrous surface. The lacquered main design is filled in with the carefully sprinkled gold and silver powders, and then several additional layers of lacquer are applied. Once these layers harden, the surface is polished many times. A finished product can take up to 3 months, and some of the pieces go through the repetitive lacquer-drawing-sprinkling-polishing process up to 130 times.
- #10 18k two-tone gold nib
- Screw-on closure
- CON-70 converter and blue cartridge included
- Bottle of Namiki blue ink included
- Comes in a velvet-lined wooden box with Namiki branding
- For a close-up and 360-degree view of the motif, feel free to refer to its listing on Pilot-Namiki's website here
- Lifetime warranty under Pilot
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