万年筆の山田. Mannenhitsu-no Yamada.
Mannenhitsu-no Yamada, the operation run by Mr. Kubota in the city of Matsumoto (Nagano, Japan) closed its doors this past May. Therefore the production of pens came to an end.
Mr. Kubota, born in 1939, took over the business in the 1980. Initially he used maki-e techniques to decorate his pens, but that proved too time consuming and not many customers were willing to pay for them and make ends meet. As a consequence, he changed his approach and began to use Damascene techniques that were popular in Japan in the Edo period. Kubota's pens started showing those metallic inserts together with some mother-of-pearl designs and some other materials –wood, tortoiseshell,...
Lately, his pens were simpler—plain ebonite, bamboo,... But he still took orders from customers.
The nibs were more often than not, Sailor. However, he used Pilot cartridges and converters on some of his pens.
Well, no more. Mr. Kubota, now 84, has decided to retire and his pens will become more appreciated. After all, that is how the market works.
Mr. Kubota.
My thanks to Mr. Kubota and to Poplicola-san.
Pilot #10 Tsugaru nuri - Diamine Imperial Purple.
Bruno Taut
San Fermín 2023
etiquetas: Mannenhitsu-no Yamada, mercado, Japón
Bruno Taut
San Fermín 2023
etiquetas: Mannenhitsu-no Yamada, mercado, Japón
3 comments:
It's time for him to retire and relax. Fortunately you did buy some of his pens. That black'n'red beauty is really appealing.
I agree the market will make them pop up and their price will rise. Sad but true.
Thank you for sharing, as always.
Thanks, Papish, for passing by and commenting.
Yes, i am lucky I could get some of his pens, but I am also afraid some skills might be lost. But that might be the fate of this country, Japan.
Cheers,
BT
Thanks for your post.
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