Mannenhitsu-no Yamada

Nothing lasts forever...

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

Kubota´s Yamada

NOTE (July 8th, 2023): There are some inaccuracies on this text: although the business Mannenhitsu-no Yamada strated in the early 1930s, the production of pens by Mr. Kubota started only in the 1980s or early 1990s. Some more informantion can be found on the following link: https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/2023/07/mannenhitsu-no-yamada.html.


There is more to Japanese pens nowadays than just the big three companies. I have written about some of the smaller companies on these pages--Masahiro, Eboya, StyloArt Karuizawa, Hakase, Ohashido, Wajimaya Zen-ni... even about the elusive Iwase Seisakusho.

But I had never mentioned Yamada Fountain Pens.

This company was founded by Mr. Yamada in Matsumoto (Nagano Prefecture) in the early 1930s. As of today, Mr. Hiroyoshi Kubota manages the operation.

Yamada pens are made to order. Ebonite is the base material, and Mr. Kubota decorates them inserting a number of materials (mother of pearl, gold, silver) and by adding elements made of buffalo horn and ivory. Some of those can be seen on the pictures of this text.

Three Yamada pens with three different decorative techniques.

Nibs and feeds are either Pilot or Sailor. On the present examples they are Sailor, although attached to Pilot converters.

Yamada pen, Sailor nib, Pilot converter. Buffalo horn and silver rings.

The main problem of Yamada pens is, once again, their anonymity. Nothing in them allows for a clear identification of the maker, and only the nibs carry any inscription, albeit misleading as these are not Pilot or Sailor products. The identification of these pens must be made through its general aspect, which is never an easy way to identify anything. The section of these pens, though, has a special and characteristic shape.

Yamada pens, Sailor nibs. And characteristic sections

But it is even worse than that--how do we contact Mr. Kubota? Yamada Fountain Pens does not have a website, and the most you can find is a postal address of the shop in Matsumoto, and a phone number.

Is this enough to keep the business running? Probably so--80 years of history speak high of the business model. Now, could Mr. Kubota enlarge the operation by becoming more accessible? Certainly so, but being a small business only that much demand he can meet.

And let´s not forget the appeal we collectors feel for the hard-to-find pen...


These are the contact details of Yamada Fountain Pens:
Mannenhitsu-no Yamada
2-5-11 Chuo
Matsumoto
Nagano 390-0811
Phone: +81 (0)263 32 2931


My thanks to Poplicola-san.

Lucky 9159 – Kingdom Note Fukutoshin Blue

Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 12th 2019
etiquetas: Sailor, Pilot, Mannenhitsu-no Yamada