Bring Pilot's Pen Station Back

Pilot's Pen Station was the museum of pens Pilot had at its headquarters in Tokyo, not far from Ginza. The museum open in October of 2002, substituting an older and smaller exhibit, and closed down on March 31st of 2016 (::1::, ::2::), when the company closed the building to demolish and reconstruct the headquarters at the same site.

The old building...

... and some of its contents.

Three years later the new building was completed and becoming operative. Now the site is shared with a hotel of the Hankyu company and some restaurants.

The new building, now shared with a Hankyu hotel.

However, Pilot has no plans to reopen the old museum. Some of the items on display were moved to the production plant in Hiratsuka, where the company had already created a small museum on maki-e pens. But the available space is limited and the old gunpowder building can hardly host a larger museum space. Hiratsuka, at the same time, is over one hour away from Tokyo.

The gunpowder building at the Hiratsuka plant of Pilot's.

In view of all this, and missing that lovely museum so much, I have decided to campaign for Pilot to reopen it somewhere in Tokyo. And I invite all of you to show your interest and support.

Let's fill up this label: #pilotpenstation!

On Instagram, where I go as @brunotaut_fp, I am using the label #pilotpenstation to group together all the related posts. And some of you, active as you are on other social media, could start similar labels and actions on those.

And, who know, Pilot might listen to us!

Pilot Super Ultra 500 – De Atramentis Beethoven

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 27th 2019
etiquetas: redes sociales, Pilot, Tokyo, Japón

Updates to the Tokyo Pen Shop List

I have just updated the page Tokyo Pen Shops. This was long overdue after two years since the last time I revised it. Fortunately, the Google Map service that allow for the map is a lot easier to edit now.

The main changes are the inclusion of some shops to the list:

– Tsutaya at Ginza Six. This shop offers a regular selection of pens, plus a handful of unique models made in collaboration with Wajimaya Zen-ni. Re inks, this shop also offers a small selection of original colors on top of a solid supply of the regular brands.

– TAG – Takeda Jimuki in Gotanda. TAG is a chain of stationery shops owned by the company Takeda Jimuki. The Gotanda branch seems to be the biggest in Tokyo. Its main appeal are the TAG inks. Although these are also available at other shops (Itoya, Angers, Okamotoya,...), prices here are slightly better.

Takeda Jimuki inks at TAG.

– Okamotoya in Toranomon. This is an old office supply shop newly restored as a modern stationer with a very Japanese flavor. It displays a regular selection of pens and an interesting gamut of inks, including TAG and the Korean brand Tono & Lims.

Okamotoya in Toranomon.

– Eboya in Arakawa. This is the shop of Nikko Ebonite to sell Eboya pens. This is the only stable place where to purchase this brand. The alternatives are regular sale events –usually at department stores in Japan-- or a through a handful of online shops.

Eboya shop in Arakawa.

I have also updated information on other shops: Kingdom Note (Map Camera) changed the location of the pen section. Kinpendo created a website.

On the negative side, some shops went under –Daiya Sutoa in Ameyoko--, or moved out of town –Füllhalter is now in Abiko, Chiba. I also removed all references to Pen Station, the deeply missed museum of Pilot in Kyobashi, Tokyo.

The list, as usual, is far from complete. Feel free to email me with more information.

Pelikan M400 Rilke – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 19th 2019
etiquetas: mercado, Tokyo

Tokyo Pen Scene in 2019

The 19th edition of the Pen Trading event in Tokyo was celebrated on the weekend of May 4th at the KFC building in the district of Sumida. And for the first time, this event lasted three days.

But all in all the figures of the show have not changed much along recent years—about 20 to 25 traders, and 200 visitors. And these numbers hardly justify such a long duration.

The first day, Friday 3rd, had Platinum as protagonist—Mr. Masa Sunami gave a lecture on the history of the brand, and the president –Mr. Nakata— answered some questions previously submitted by the attendees. However, the answers were to be kept strictly intramural, and any leak through social media was prohibited. Trading started at 12:30, albeit restricted to non-gold nib pens and assorted goods.

Saturday and Sunday were more of a traditional pen show –no restrictions of the type of pens to be on offer--, and were combined with a number of workshops.

Pen Trading in Tokyo, 19th edition.

Along this past year there has been a wealth of activities in the fountain pen world in Tokyo. The Wagner group has extended its events in order to attract younger aficionados, for instance. In October, the Tokyo International Pen Show (TIPS) worked well as a meeting point for aficionados previously disconnected, thus enlarging the pen community.

All this should imply that the trading events like that of Spring should become more important in the basic figures, but that was not the case ten days ago. The second edition of TIPS, to be celebrated in October 5th and 6th, looks like the best chance for the local activity to become something more according to the relevance of Japan in the international market.

And the only way to do so is to become more international.

So, next stop, the second edition of the Tokyo International Pen Show in October 5th and 6th. Hope to see you there.

Iwase Seisakusho prototype – Wagner 2008 ink

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, May 9th 2019
etiquetas: Tokyo, Japón, evento, mercado

150 Years of Maruzen

Maruzen, the historical stationer of Tokyo, opens the Spring pen season in this city with the Maruzen World Fountain Pen in early March. This year this event celebrates its 10th edition, at the time of the 150th anniversary of Maruzen company. For the occasion, a limited edition pen hit the market together with some other commemorative stationeries.

Maruzen is largely responsible for the introduction of the fountain pen in Japan. Maruzen did so by importing this novelty writing tool from Britain and the US in the beginning of the twentieth century. Maruzen soon started selling some of those same pens –mostly Onoto and Waterman-- under its own brands like Zenith, Albion and Orion.

It took a bit longer for Maruzen to manufacture its own pens. The domestic production relied on the works of Sakasai Eisaburô, who by 1925 was working exclusively for Maruzen.

The Athena Renaissance 85 corresponds to this period. It was initially marketed in 1934. This is a lever filler made of ebonite with a 14 K gold nib.

Athena Renaissance 85, from 1934. A Sakasai Eisaburô manufacture.

Sakasai passed away in 1937 and Maruzen took over his factory to continue with the production of its own pens.

The factory, located in Shinagawa (Tokyo) was destroyed during the war, and a new plant in Katsushika (Tokyo) was built. Here, new pens showed up in the market in the early 1950s. Such is the case of the second pen—an urushi coated ebonite pen with a lever filler and a 14 K gold nib. It carries the JIS engraving issued by the Ministry of Industry in 1952-53 on fountain pens.

Another lever filler--a post war pen from around 1955.

A third example is the pen in the “Ultra” fashion initiated by the Pilot Super Ultra of 1959 (::1::, ::2::, ::3::). On this case, the pen was released in 1964. It is an aerometric filler, with a 14 K gold nib and a generous decoration on the section, where the brand “ATHENA” is imprinted.

An Athena pen from 1964. Its original price was JPY 2500.

The in-house production of pens ended in the 1970s, and for some time the brand Athena was limited to the Maruzen inks.

Athena ink by mid 1960s. Athena Ace.

Maruzen's fountain pens resurfaced in 1994 through a collaboration with Pilot. Since then, Athena pens are Pilot pens in disguise, often implementing size #10 nibs. The Athena Basic Line (ca 2003) follows that idea.

The Athena Basic Line, from around 2004. It has an obvious similarity with the Pilot Custom Heritage 912, from 2009, with which the Basic Line shares the nib.

The 150th anniversary Athena pen has a shape that is very dear to Maruzen. This is the “Onoto type” (albeit in the quite personal Maruzen style)—a very cylindrical pen with a thinner barrel end where to post the cap. This pen also implements a size #10 Pilot nib, and the well-known converter CON-70. This edition is limited to 500 units, and its price is JPY 45000, plus taxes.

The "Athena the Pen" made for the 150th anniversary of Maruzen. Its retro packaging is particularly attractive. Photo courtesy of FudeFan. On his blog you can find a more detailed description of this pen.

So, after 150 years, Maruzen seems alive and well, and its main shop in Nihonbashi is one of the basic references for stylophiles in Tokyo. Should Maruzen make its own pens, the situation would be even better, but that might be asking too much.


My thanks to FudeFan.

Iwase Seisakusho, prototype with Henckel nib – Takeda Jimuki Hisoku

Bruno Taut
Chiyoda, March 11th, 2019
etiquetas: Maruzen, Pilot, Japón, Tokyo, papelería

Tokyo International Pen Show 2018. A Stationery Salon

The first Tokyo International Pen Show (::1::, ::2::) took place this past weekend (September 29th and 30th) in the ward of Taito in Tokyo. And the results were impressive.

The event was celebrated at one of the lounges of the Taito Metropolitan Industrial Center –Taito Kan–: 1400 m2, 60 tables, 50 traders for a total of about 1500 visitors. On the first day –Saturday 29th–, 1100 visitors filled the room, 600 of which arrived within the first hour.

(Photo courtesy of Inktraveler).

The key for this success was, in my opinion, based on two elements: a very eclectic list of traders, and the almost completely absence of vintage pen vendors. The result was a lounge centered on stationeries instead of on pens. In actual terms, there were about half a dozen traders offering used and vintage pens: Pen Land Café (Nagoya), Komehyo (Japan), Mora Stylos (Paris), Erfobay, Hayashi Katsuro,... New pens were displayed by the hand of the creators themselves―Tetzbo, Ohashido, Manu Propria, Eboya, StyloArt Karuizawa, Helico, Taccia, Azonx, Chriselle,... The rest of vendors were focused on dedicated pens (shop-special limited editions), inks, papers and assorted paraphernalia.

These later sectors were responsible for the crowds on the first day. And this public was very young and very female―just the opposite of the usual demographics of pen collectors: male and middle aged.

(Photo courtesy of Inktraveler).

(Photo courtesy of Inktraveler).

In conclusion, the First Tokyo International Pen Show was resounding success, but at the expense of vintage pens and through becoming a stationery fair addressed to the final consumer.

The organizers deserve all the credit of the right decisions to attract 1500 potential buyers. The 2019 edition of the Tokyo International Pen Show will take place on October 5th and 6th of 2019.

Pelikan M800 Kodaishu – Sailor Red Brown

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 2nd, 2018
etiquetas: Tokyo, evento, papelería

Tokyo International Pen Show 2018

Despite the active pen community existing in Tokyo, this big city lacks an international pen event. Sure there are small fairs (::1::, ::2::, plus the pen fair in Maruzen-Nihonbashi) in Spring attended by some foreign aficionados, but those fairs are basically Japanese in their scope.

Some initiatives were tried in the past with irregular success. The Sapporo Pen Show in 2013 was a one-time thing. Kobe’s Pen Show is now a regular event in November. And Tokyo never got that lucky despite several attempts.

But now, the Tokyo International Pen Show —TIPS— seems to gain the necessary momentum. Pen maker Eboya and stationer BunguBox are the organizers.

The event will be celebrated on September 29th (from 13:00 to 17:00) and 30th (from 10:00 to 16:00) at the Taito Municipal Industry and Trade Center –Taito Hall— on the seventh floor. The entry fee will be JPY 500 per day.

There exist, right now, a list of traders/exhibitors. Most of them are Japanese, and the international representation lies on just five brave traders from Singapore, Taiwan, Switzerland, and France (2).

May the TIPS be successful, for Tokyo deserves a truly international pen show.

Platinum Preppy – Platinum Blue Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 31st 2018
etiquetas: Tokyo, Japón. mercado, evento

Ôsôji

Japanese people end the year with a traditional clean up of the house--and of the office at times. This is called ôsôji: big clean up. On the way, many forgotten or out of use goods end up in the garbage. But your junk might be someone else’s treasure.

The Wagner “end-of-the-year” bazaar is a mixture of an end of the year party and a small market where to sell all those pens –and accessories you might no longer want. Or at least that was at some time. Nowadays, it has become a small pen show for local traders perfectly comparable in size with the “Pen Trading” (such is the name) event celebrated in Tokyo in Spring, usually by the end of April or beginning of May (::1::, ::2::).

So, this past December 30th, pen aficionados in Tokyo gathered at the end-of-the-year bazaar organized by the Wagner group. Between 150 and 200 visitors, and about 15 traders conformed this event where the commercial activity dominated over any other aspect. Fair enough… save for the exhaustion of the formula: too few traders with small variety and selection of pens for a very active pen community. The paradox is that other events in Tokyo organized by Maruzen (World of Fountain Pens) and by Mitsukoshi (Fountain Pens of the World Festival; ::1::, ::2::, ::3::), both focused on new pens—attract a lot more people and generate a higher economic activity.

Japan seems faithful to its tradition of isolation. The Galápagos syndrome is alive and well in a number of areas in this island nation. It is not easy to pinpoint a single reason to explain such attitude, but Economics might provide some arguments—are there real incentives to open the market to Barbaric influences?

Now, how long can this isolation last?

Romillo Nervión – Sailor Blue Iron

Bruno Taut
Nakano, January 8th 2018
labels: evento, Tokyo, mercado, Japón

Kobe in Tokyo (II)

Some months ago I wrote about how Nagasawa Kobe’s inks were available in Tokyo at Itoya's main shop in Ginza. And the prices of those inks were the same as in Kobe, which made those inks all the more appealing.

Now it is not only Itoya offering them but also its natural competitor in the fountain pen scene—Maruzen. At least at some branches. The pictures of this text were taken at the newly open shop in Ikebukuro (Toshima).

Maruzen in Ikebukuro.

And again, like at Itoya, the prices are the same as at Nagasawa in Kobe—JPY 1800, plus tax.

This is probably good news for the consumer—more competition should translate into higher qualiy and lower prices. But what does Sailor, the actual maker of those inks, think about these moves by Nagasawa?

The well known chart of the colors of the Kobe inks.

And, how big is the ink market? How much offer can the dwellers of the ink-swamp --インク沼—support?

Finally, is there a bubble in the market of fountain pen inks?

Gama “The Wand” – Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku

Bruno Taut
Nakano, Sept 28 2017
etiquetas: tinta, Tokyo, Sailor, Nagasawa, Maruzen

Kobe in USA

The Kobe-based stationery shop Nagasawa started selling its rage of inks—the Kobe inks—in Tokyo last February. The Tokyo partner for this operation is Itoya, and its headquarters in Ginza are the only place where these inks are sold in the big city.

Nagasawa in Kobe.

This marketing decision seems successful, and the pile of Kobe inks at Itoya does shrink down. The arrangement is stable, though, and the stock of inks should be replenished regularly.

Kobe inks at Itoya. They seem to go fast, but not being a limited offer, the shelves should be replenished regularly.

But the more interesting news are that Nagasawa intends to sell these Kobe inks in the US market in a near future. Not much more information is available now. In particular, not about what retail channel the Kobe shop will use for this move. However, it is only reasonable to think Itoya America could be in charge of the distributing these Kobe inks made, after all, by Sailor.

Pilot Prera – Gary's Red-Black (Wagner ink 2012)

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, March 29th 2017
etiquetas: tinta, Nagasawa, Tokyo, Estados Unidos, Sailor, mercado

Kobe in Tokyo

On the previous text I spoke about a new arrival in the Tokyo pen scene. Hamamatsu’s shop Bung-Box has recently opened a branch in Tokyo. An obvious effect of this move the availability of a wide range on original inks in the big city.

The other big name in original inks —that is, inks made by Sailor for specific retailers— is Nagasawa, in the city of Kobe. Kobe inks, as Nagasawa calls them, were the first gamut to receive a wide attention from stylophiles both in Japan and overseas.

Kobe ink in Kobe. Picture by Randall Stevens. Used by permission.

The new move of Nagasawa is to market these inks in Tokyo as well. But this time in partnership with one of the main shops in Tokyo—Itoya.

Kobe ink in Tokyo.

That’s it—now Itoya sells a wide variety of Kobe inks at, at least, its flagship shop in Ginza. The price of this inks is the same as in Nagasawa shop—JPY 1800, plus tax, for 50 ml. And this is indeed remarkable—Kobe inks are JPY 200 cheaper (for a 50 ml inkwell) than any other original ink, of course Sailor made. But there is an exception—Bung-Box inks are a lot more expensive at JPY 3000.

Kobe inks in Itoya Ginza.

Are these moves by Nagasawa and Bung-Box mere timely coincidences?

My thanks to Randall Stevens.

Sailor Profit, Naginata nib – Nagasawa Bokkô

Bruno Taut
Chuo, March 3rd, 2017
etiquetas: Sailor, tinta, Tokyo, mercado, Nagasawa, Itoya