Namiki maki-e pens

[Gorowitz]

Dear all,

These pens are expensive and difficult to find at local pen boutiques. They are often sold out from internet sellers and even Pilot US. Why is it so? Are they so rare?

[jar]

Originally Posted by Gorowitz

Dear all,

These pens are expensive and difficult to find at local pen boutiques. They are often sold out from internet sellers and even Pilot US. Why is it so? Are they so rare?

Maki-e pens from most any source come in a range of prices generally based on three factors, the method used (screen printed, screen printed but the hand detailed, fully hand painted, fully hand painted by a master or fully hand painted by a master and in a limited number) as well as the materials used (all natural urushi or synthetic urushi; resin or metal or ebonite body; automated body construction or hand turned body construction).

Namiki has an entry level maki-e line that are made by the screen printing process but then hand detailed by craftsmen in their studio that is marketed under the Nippon Art name. They also have higher priced versions all hand painted and signed by an individual maki-e shi, a master. These are often sold under the Dunhill or Tiffany branding.

Here are some entry level Maki-e examples showing screen painted hand finished maki-e on automated built resin body pens.

From top to bottom the makers are: Platinum, Namiki, Platinum, Sailor, Platinum.

[Gorowitz]

Thanks for the very useful introduction to maki-e pens. You are right. Entry level Namiki pens can be found. High end ones are often sold out though they appears in the website. I do not mean those limited editions. Are they really sought after by users and collectors? Unfortunately I have never seen a high end Namiki in the flesh.

[jar]

Originally Posted by Gorowitz

Thanks for the very useful introduction to maki-e pens. You are right. Entry level Namiki pens can be found. High end ones are often sold out though they appears in the website. I do not mean those limited editions. Are they really sought after by users and collectors? Unfortunately I have never seen a high end Namiki in the flesh.

The higher end Maki-e pens are very often sold out regardless of the source. The big reason is the there are a limited number of people who can do such work and that even if they do several pens at a time, it can take many months to make them. Total production then is always in the dozens of pens of a given design rather than the thousands or tens of thousands.

Namiki and Sailor both have Maki-e Studios where much of the work is done in-house but Platinum and Nakaya and Danitrio and the smaller Japanese houses farm the maki-e creation out to individual Maki-shi.

AbE: if you like I can post some close up pictures of both low and higher end maki-e so you can see the difference.

[Juantxo]

Originally Posted by jar

The higher end Maki-e pens are very often sold out regardless of the source. The big reason is the there are a limited number of people who can do such work and that even if they do several pens at a time, it can take many months to make them. Total production then is always in the dozens of pens of a given design rather than the thousands or tens of thousands.

Namiki and Sailor both have Maki-e Studios where much of the work is done in-house but Platinum and Nakaya and Danitrio and the smaller Japanese houses farm the maki-e creation out to individual Maki-shi.

AbE: if you like I can post some close up pictures of both low and higher end maki-e so you can see the difference.

Yes, please do...!!

Moreover, I'll appreciate greatly your opinion about the level of craftsmanship of the Nakaya urushi pens. Would outsourcing the work reflect higher/lower quality, or not at all, for instance.

As always, thank you so much for sharing your extensive knowledge on this matter.

[Gorowitz]

I was told Namiki (high end) has the highest resale value even comparing to Montblanc or other famous European brands. Sounds strange to me.

[jar]

Originally Posted by Gorowitz

I was told Namiki (high end) has the highest resale value even comparing to Montblanc or other famous European brands. Sounds strange to me.

As is so often the case that may well often be true, but not just Namiki.

When Montblanc issues a Special Edition it is often unlimited in size. Most of Montblancs Limited Editions still number in the thousands or tens of thousands.

Namiki maki-e shi consists of about four or five individuals. They produce editions that might get into the hundreds but more often are in the dozens. That is also true of the high end Platinums, Nakaya (a staff of four people total), Sailor, Danitrio (usually six or eight maki-e shi).

The high end pens from Sailor and Namiki and Nakaya and Danitrio also often cost initial prices far higher than most Limited Edition pens from European companies.

What I have never seen so far are real bargains when it comes to the high end urushi and maki-e and chikin offerings. You just don't see many coming up for resale and when you do it is usually at prices far above the original retail.

Amazingly, this is all a relatively new market, with the Namiki and Nakaya and Danitrio and the high end Sailor studio only being created in the 1990s. Pilot was creating high end pens before that but under contract from companies like Dunhill and Tiffany that again preordered very limited numbers of very high end pens.

[jar]

I said I'd include some closeups of maki-e shi work so you can see the detail. What you will see is an example of drawing using finely powdered precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, bronze, copper) that are applied by hand on a still tacky urushi layer often using bamboo tubes or the finest of brushes.

Here is a pen based on the Japanese folk tale of the Tongue Cut Sparrow:

Now let's look closer at the art work. The artist is Masanori Omote and it is signed with his name and official chop.

Look at the detail of the bird on the cap, how different sizes of particles are used to change the tone of body parts, different colors of metals used and fine details added with a brush.

Look at the subtle color changes in the flower petals.

Look at the bird on the lower part of the Bamboo and how depth is added to make the bamboo stalk truly round, how the design continues from body to cap with a bamboo joint at the intersection.

Here is a different example, a pen based on the folk tale Momotaro (the peach boy): The artist for this pen is Kosetsu (Tatsuya Todo).

Look at the details on his shoes and the cords that tie up his top knot, the creases in his pants.

The background is gold leaf, gold hammered out until each leaf is only thousandths of an inch thick and laid on a still tacky urushi base then smoothed out by hand. Then the maki-e painting is done and another protective coating of urushi added.

It's easy to see how some pens may have as many as 40 layers involved in the finished process and why it can take months to produce each pen.

[Bisquitlips]

I
WANT
ONE!!!!!!


Those are incredible!

[Gorowitz]

Thanks for the stunning photos and detailed explanation. Is Namiki the most famous brand among maki-e companies?

[Bisquitlips]

Can you believe those pens???

Incredible!

sigh.........

[Gorowitz]

Agree. A piece of art instead of a writing instrument....


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[Formulansx]

First you guys introduce me to urushi this year. Now maki-e?!! When will the madness stop?!! Too many awesome pens!

[Gorowitz]

Seems that maki-e is the pinnacle.

[jar]

Originally Posted by Gorowitz

Thanks for the stunning photos and detailed explanation. Is Namiki the most famous brand among maki-e companies?

Pilot is the largest of the big three Japanese pen companies but today for Maki-e I actually think Danitrio is the best source with the broadest selection. Namiki is likely the best known to the general public.

[jar]

Originally Posted by Gorowitz

Seems that maki-e is the pinnacle.

There are also other forms of decorative lacquerware like Raden where tiny pieces of other material are individually places to create a pattern and Chikin where designs are carved into urushi that are then filled with powders made from precious metals or even carbon and then covered with a final coating of urushi.

Here is an example of Raden done by master Zhi Hao:



While the urushi base is still tacky the design is painted and then individual pieces of mother of pearl and thin strips silver placed to finish the design.



And in this one from Sailor created by master Katsunobu Nishihara raden is used to create the eyes of the fighting fish as well as accents.









Note how the light catches the fish eye as I rotate the pen in the next three images:

[Gorowitz]

Thanks a lot. Just had a look of Namiki website...their Emperor series....speechless...


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[jar]

Originally Posted by Juantxo

Yes, please do...!!

Would outsourcing the work reflect higher/lower quality, or not at all, for instance.

There is a Japanese saying; "If you want mochi go to the mochi maker".

When talking about the higher end urushi, maki-e, raden, chinkin creations we are talking about fairly low volume craftsman created objects. In Japan, many of these by tradition were regulated professions and assigned to specific areas.

Only certain areas were allowed to do work in gold, or bronzes or make swords or daggers, to make paper or grow certain crops. It was a highly regulated and structured society. Many products were guild controlled with techniques passed from father to son (and only very occasionally to daughter).

Izumo province was known for making fine papers. One such location is for lacquerware is Wajima. Nakaya sends their pens to Wajima to have the urushi finishing and maki-e work done.

One variation is Kamakura-bori and was limited to the Kamakura prefecture. In Kamakura-bori items (originally wood) were first carved and then covered by many layers of different colored urushi. Once the product was fully cured the finish was selectively polished away to revel the underlying colors.

Another technique builds up parts by selectively adding layers of thick urushi to make a design which is then often carved, painted and gilded.

[Juantxo]

Ignorance is bliss... and a healthy bank account. How can I not want to possess such beauty, such elevated expression of human craftsmanship...!!!

Thank you, Jim. You rock my world...!!!

[Pocosso]

Namiki is a great manufacturer, I have a Polar Bear and it is stunning.

[TswaneNguni]

How about that art work on those pens ...beautiful !!

[Pocosso]

It is, they are very delicate and enormous, not suitable to travel. But a good gadget on a desk.


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[Bisquitlips]

Jim (Jar) is a TRF treasure! I made a .pdf out of this thread to use as a study on Maki-e and Japanese pens in general.

I am glad someone revived this thread. Since it was first started I have been inspired by Jim's knowledge to acquire 8 really nice Maki-e and urushi pens and I will say that even though they are really expensive, I have never had buyer's remorse.

When you understand that some of these pens take a year or more to create, it is a revelation in itself to their real value. Some of the pens I have actually have a story behind the art on the pen. That in itself is another thread.

The Japanese are just superb in my estimation when it comes to Maki-e / Urushi! I read somewhere that the artists actually make their own brushes and some of the brushes are made of a handle and one human hair. I cannot conceive of the patience it takes to paint a work of art with one human hair on a stick, but that is what it takes to achieve the incredible detail and accuracy that they do.

Here are a couple of videos that might help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPA8nxSGG0A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn8jVZ0yCko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn8jVZ0yCko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBiTw3xVdFM

And a couple of mine.

PLATINUM Aurora Fountain Pen Izumo Honurushi







Taccia Autumn Brushes (Urushi and Raden) Photo credit to Nibsmith. I haven't had time to photograph mine. His is a great example of this pen.







Danitrio 100 Poems by 100 Poets



In this image, it appears that some of the gold paint has flaked off of the reed berries. It is just the lighting. The pen is flawless.





Danitrio Urushi Maki-e Takumi Silver Waves by Hironobu








Nakaya Piccolo Heki Tamanuri Brown over Green





Nakaya Piccolo Cigar Toki-Tamenuri Flex Fine Nib





Sailor Sakura Nagare Prime Minister







The Sailor Sakura Nagare Limited Edition Fountain Pen is a unique design by Maki-e Artist Tadashi Nakamura depicting Sakura - that is, cherry blossom floating on a stream.

The body of the Sailor Sakura Nagare fountain pen is of lacquer, and the swirling pattern is made by the artist from tiny flakes of colored enamels, mother of pearl, and precious metals that are then sealed in place with a further coat of lacquer. As each pen is made by hand, no two of them are the same.

The beautiful cap and barrel of this pen are complemented by the beautiful Sailor nib in 21-carat gold which, as with all pens based on the King of Pen, is available in Medium or Broad.

[Bisquitlips]

Jim, I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to post your musings about playing with poison ivy. This is a great piece and has some great information. It was here that I learned that Urushi is kin to poison oak and sumac. Really good reading!



http://jimrichardson.org/The%20Stori...son%20Ivy.html


-

[jar]

Originally Posted by Bisquitlips

Jim, I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to post your musings about playing with poison ivy. This is a great piece and has some great information. It was here that I learned that Urushi is kin to poison oak and sumac. Really good reading!



http://jimrichardson.org/The%20Stori...son%20Ivy.html


-

Don't mind at all. But here's some PRON that hasn't shown up in the thread so far.

I do have to take exception though to the comment from the person that revived this thread.

Urushi and Maki-e pens and objects are not fragile or unsuited to travel and certainly not simply desk ornaments. In fact urushi has been used on furniture and dishware and bowls and cups and chests and walls and ceilings and scabbards and helmets and statues and buildings for hundreds of years. Properly cured urushi is hard, unaffected by most solvents and it's biggest issue is that it tends to become clearer and more transparent and to loose some vibrancy with long exposure to UV light.

Here is an example of such UV light damage.

This is a fountain pen from Eboya, the company that makes most of the ebonite used in Japanese fountain pens from all the makers. Before I got it it had been used as a window display where it sat for over a year exposed to direct sunlight all day amplified by the effects of the plate glass. The model is called an Akebono Yatate and is meant to look like a bamboo section.



But uncapped you can see the original color on the section that had been covered by the cap and so not exposed to all the UV light.





The nib on my Eboya's are simple Bock 14K nibs but each has been tuned by the maker and have been absolute dream to use.

Here are three of my Eboya's with two of my Sailor King of Pen as a size reference.

[Bisquitlips]

I agree with Jim. Urushi is super durable. I have seen Japanese dishes and tea sets that are 60 years old and well-loved (used) on one of the auction sites that I haunt and they are still gorgeous.

Jim,
Is there anything that can be done to bring back the vibrancy on that Akebono Yatate? I am sure that you would have likely restored it already if it could be done, but perhaps not considering its age, value, and other things. Kind of like antique and vintage Colt firearms. Leave them alone!

Thank you for the extra photos and education.

[jar]

Originally Posted by Bisquitlips

I agree with Jim. Urushi is super durable. I have seen Japanese dishes and tea sets that are 60 years old and well-loved (used) on one of the auction sites that I haunt and they are still gorgeous.

Jim,
Is there anything that can be done to bring back the vibrancy on that Akebono Yatate? I am sure that you would have likely restored it already if it could be done, but perhaps not considering its age, value, and other things. Kind of like antique and vintage Colt firearms. Leave them alone!

Thank you for the extra photos and education.

Great question but for the long suffering audience, yet another longer rambling answer.

One common theme of the Buddhist, Shinto and Taoists beliefs is a recognition of 'what is' and that 'what is' is not permanent, perfect or regular. Life involves change and suffering and imperfections and irregularity. It includes both physical and non-physical aspects, things living and not-living, natural and man made.

Wabi Sabi.

It can be seen everywhere, from the simple line drawings where a bamboo forest is represented by irregular strokes of the brush to the slight but intentional off-roundness of a cup. It is an acceptance that everything changes over time and that there is beauty in change whether it is a flower petal floating in a tea service or the changes in color of a tamenuri fountain pen over time.

What has happened to that fountain pen is also an example of Wabi Sabi. It is simply 'what it is' and I accept it as 'what is' rather than 'what might be'.


Another Eboya; a Natsumi (style) in Tanshin (color & pattern).

[Bisquitlips]

Here is a crazy urushi / Maki-e pen that I just purchased.

It is a Sailor 1911 Pro Gear in a clear/transparent green that has been worked on by a pen artist. I really like the color of the pen in combination with the urushi and gold sprinkling.

https://www.districturushi.com/







I find it interesting that there are American artists that are getting into make-e and urushi on pens. This may have been happening for years, but I am just discovering it. Some find their work to be abominations. I happen to like what they are doing.

There is a small company in Washington DC named District Urushi. He has some engaging pens. It won't be long before these folks begin to turn their own ebonite and other material bases for pens instead of using existing fountain pens. When that happens we will have a new generation of Maki-e and urushi pens to collect. No, they won't be of Japanese heritage, but will still be worthy of credit.

They are worth the few minutes time it takes to check them out.

https://www.districturushi.com

,

[MrGoat]

Just showed this thread to my old lady (expressing my need for one of these pens) and now I believe she thinks I may be a little nuts.


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[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

Just showed this thread to my old lady (expressing my need for one of these pens) and now I believe she thinks I may be a little nuts.


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We’re all crazy lol