Fountain Pens of the World Festival (I)

Fountain pen events in Tokyo there are many. From the quasi-monthly meetings of the Wagner group to single-brand promotions at some department store, the gamut is wide. And some of them really stand out in the calendar.

One such example is the Fountain Pens of the World Festival organized by Mitsukoshi department store. This annual event is celebrated usually in March at the Nihonbashi branch in Tokyo.

General view of the Festival. Pilot's stand on the front, Sailor's and Eboya's to the right, Platinum-Nakaya's and Ohashido's on the back.

More brands: Kuretake, Parker, Waterman, Cross, Dupont, Conway-Stewart...

Eboya on the front, Pilot on the back.

This week-long festival congregates most of the pen makers and pen importers to be found in Japan. Therefore, it is an interesting opportunity to check what was going on in the market. but there is more to it: there are some special editions of pens and inks, some brands promote their new goods, and there are pen masters of every brand to service pens, new and old.

Mr. Yoshida, of Nakaya, on duty.

Ohashido's lathe... and Ohashido's pen master.

Nibmeister Yukio Nagahara.

Sailor's ink mixer, Mr. Ishimaru.

Pelikan's nibmeister.

Pilot's pen doctor at work.

Calligraphy lessons courtesy of Pilot. Any better way to promote Pilot's Parallel Pens?

Most Italian brands, plus some others like Monteverde and Dupont, shared the same pen master. Here he was adjusting a Delta Dolce Vita.

Mitsukoshi’s event, might be worth to insist, is not the only one of its kind, but it is the one congregating more brands and more visitors. Event like this are a powerful do bring pens to the public and potential new user. Consequently, it should be no surprise that the Japanese pen scene was so active nowadays.

On another text I will report on the special edition pens released at this event. There are already too many pictures on this Chronicle.

Platinum 3776 (1984), B nib – Parker Quink Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, March 30th, 2015
etiquetas: evento, mercado