The legendary Capless Pilot is the only pressurized fountain pen in the world with a retractable nib. Created in 1963, its high precision mechanism with utter reliability has been perfected since its creation. It remains today a true innovation never equaled. By decorating it with these two traditional Japanese motives in Maki-e, Namiki gives to the modernity of its line an unexpected charm.

Meaning of the design

The symbolism of the four leaves clover is universal. Due to its rarity it has become since ancient times a symbol of luck with variations according to cultures and eras. Its four leaves could symbolize hope, faith, love, and luck ...

Used technique

The Hira Maki-e technique consists of dusting a 24-carat gold powder, which, after drying, is covered with several layers of Urushi lacquer before being polished.

A special oil-free topcoat provides inimitable gloss and softness to the touch. The exceptional quality of Urushi lacquer used by Namiki comes from the selection of trees whose harvest rarely exceeds the value of 3 or 4 teaspoons per tree for a few very precise days, which explains the rarity and the value of the product.

The legendary Capless Pilot is the only pressurized fountain pen in the world with a retractable nib. Created in 1963, its high precision mechanism with utter reliability has been perfected since its creation. It remains today a true innovation never equaled. Dressed in light by Namiki with mother-of-pearl designs, these models gain in preciousness while keeping their modernity.

About the design

The Raden stripes features uneven lines of shell particles centered around the pen ring to form a very contemporary abstract pattern

Technique used

The Raden technique was chosen to enhance the Capless with luminous patterns. Raden uses the pearlescent inner lining of some shells, thinly sliced ​​and cut into small pieces. These small particles are assembled to form a decoration. They are then coated with Urushi lacquer to be held in place. 

Remember that Namiki always uses the best quality of Urushi, The one coming from carefully selected trees whose harvest rarely exceeds the value of 3 or 4 teaspoons per tree for a few very precise days, which explains the rarity and the value of the product. 

Each pen is covered with several layers of lacquer, each time polished with charcoal. A special oil-free topcoat gives it unmistakable brilliance and softness to the touch.

Flowers and birds themes are an essential inspiration of Asian art on which the Kokkokai school knows how to pose an intimate glance imbued with a poetry of its own.

Namiki and the Kokkokai movement

Kokkokai means Group of Light of the Nation. This movement was founded in 1931 around Gonroku Matsuda, a student of Shisi Rokkaku, a leading scholar at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and the creator of the first Namiki pens prototypes. Gonroku Matsuda is considered the greatest master of all time in the art of Maki-e. Appreciated in his own lifetime, he received among other distinctions the highest title of National Living Treasure. Under the leadership of this Maki-e legend, the Kokkokai Artisan Group was formed to research, develop and perfect the style and quality of Namiki's Maki-e pens.

Originally composed of Namiki craftsmen and outside artisans, each member of the Kokkokai group has different techniques but they all have the same vision of the development of this traditional art. The Kokkokai artisan’s technique is passed on from generation to generation.

Used technique

Togidashi-Hira Maki-e technique: the base is coated with an oilless black lacquer, and this is sprinkled with gold powder to create the design. This is then completly covered with a coating of Urushi lacquer and after drying, the design is revealed by burnished the lacquer with charcoal.

The technique is executed by experts within the field of Maki-e painting. A pen can take months of craftmanship, translating into extraordinary and intricate designs set against a dark lacquered surface.

Details: 

• Artist: Kokkokai
• Model: Yukari
• Introduction Year: 2003
• Nib: 18kt solid gold bicolor nib
• Cap: Screw-cap

Night time contemplation in Japan is a popular national activity celebrated by many festivals. This glittering pen evokes the beauties of it, highlighted by the technique of Raden.

Meaning of the design

Nocturnal firefly watching, Hotaru, is one of the summer pleasures of Japanese people. In the past, fireflies hunt was a very popular pastime among Japanese bourgeoisie. Moreover, many prints of the Edo period show young women having a walk with boxes to capture fireflies.

Used techniques

Wonderful Raden, using thin strips of pearly lining removed from some shells and cut into small pieces. These fine particles are assembled to form iridescent patterns. They are then coated with Urushi to keep them in place. Everything is polished to get a perfect finish.

Details

• Artist: Masato Sato and other artists
• Model: 2003

Momijigari, the period when Japanese people like to contemplate the intense glow of the maple leaves. This pen with its coppery atmosphere for an autumnal theme caters to this cherished time by Japanese people,

Meaning of the design

There are more than 200 maple species in Japan. The flaming of this magnificent tree, whose leaves can pass from almost a purple vermillion to a lighter orange, begins in mid-September in the north, in Hokkaido, and ends at the beginning of December in the south, on the island of Kyushu. This phenomenom, known in Japanese as Momiji, fascinates Japanese people, who follow it with the same attention as the blossoming of the cherry trees in the spring, and attracts many Japanese and foreign tourists to the places where it is most remarkable, especially around Kyoto. 

Around that time, Japanese people like to go to temples or to the mountains full of maple trees, to picnic under the trees, admire them and photograph this sublime spectacle. This custom dates back to the Heian era (794-1195). Long reserved for the Japanese aristocracy, it extended to all the Japanese people during the Edo period (1603-1868).

Used techniques

The autumn leaves and the pagoda are highlighted with the Togidashi Hira Maki-E technique.

A base of deep black, oil-free lacquer (roiro) is sprinkled with gold and silver in order to create the pattern. Then it is completely covered with Urushi lacquer. After drying and polishing with charcoal, the pattern reappears.

Details

• Artist: Michifumi Kawaguchi
• Model: Yukari
• Year of introduction: 2009

These bamboo stalks with their aerial foliage, declining assorted subtle shades of soft greens, curl around this Yukari, giving it a timeless elegance.

Meaning of the design

Amazing bamboo! With its finely cut leaves that contrast with the vigor of its stalks whose astonishing robustness matches only their fabulous flexibility, it has been for thousands of years one of the most reliable building materials and still is. Its growth rate can be up to 1m per 24 hours. Its longitudinal and vertical mechanical strength is greater than that of steel. It resists better, on average, than wood to the solvency of water, is stainless, impermeable and rot-proof. This is why it is use among other things in reinforced concrete. All these exceptional qualities make it a good symbol of progress and success. It also represents adaptability and righteousness because it bends but does not break.

Used technique

The beauty of bamboo and the finesse of its leaves is particularly well highlighted by the delicate technique of Togidashi Maki-e, which is the most ancient technique. Once the drawing is finished, it is covered with a thin layer of lacquer, which completely masks the lines. By finely polishing the surface with charcoal, the drawing reappears, the talent of the artist making the surface remain smooth without any protuberance being detectable to the touch.

The technique is executed by experts within the field of Maki-e painting. A pen can take months of craftmanship, translating into extraordinary and intricate designs set against a dark lacquered surface.

Details: 

• Artist: Mamoru Wakabayashi
• Model: Yukari
• Introduction Year: 2009
• Nib: 18kt solid gold bicolor nib
• Cap: Screw-cap

Here is a touching scene of aquatic life. Two turtles and their baby frolic in the water among the rocks and water lilies.

Meaning of the design

Turtle is one of the four celestial, supernatural or auspicious animals of ancient China, with the dragon, the qilin and the phoenix. In Japan it is said that cranes live a thousand years and turtles 10,000 years. Turtle is a symbol of longevity and is the subject of many legends. Like that of Minogame, who has lived for 10,000 years, covered with a coat of seaweed at the bottom of a lake, or that of Urashima Tarō, a fisherman who after rescuing a turtle, daughter of the king of the ocean, was rewarded by a submarine stay at Ryūgū-jō Palace, with the turtle turned into a pretty princess. Suffering from homesickness, he was allowed to return home with a box that he was not to open. Discovering that more than three hundred years had passed since his departure and that no one knew him, he was desperate. He then opened the box, releasing a cloud of white smoke and began to age instantly. The box was containing his real age.

Used techniques

The technique of Togidashi Taka- Maki-e is also known as "Shishiaï Togidashi-Maki-e". This is the highest level of Maki-e and uses very advanced techniques. Urushi and coal powder are used to make the pattern appear in high relief. The Taka-maki-e process then makes it possible to create a three-dimensional pattern with an animated depth.

The technique is executed by experts within the field of Maki-e painting. A pen can take months of craftmanship, translating into extraordinary and intricate designs set against a dark lacquered surface.

Details: 

• Artist: Seiki Chida
• Model: Yukari
• Introduction Year: 2009
• Nib: 18kt solid gold bicolor nib
• Cap: Screw-cap

This decoration is largely inspired by the prints of the famous series "Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji" made by the renowned Japanese painter Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) who revolutionized the painting of the time.

Meaning of the motives

In these prints, the sacred mountain Mount Fuji, the highest point of Japan, is represented from every angle, at any time of day and night, in all seasons and all weathers, in close-up or as a distant detail but always present - a pretext to describe the beauty of nature and its relationship with man. 

On the pen 'Mount Fuji and Ship', the man on his boat looks small compared to the majestic beauty of the mythical mountain.

Used Technique

The technique used is Hira Maki-e, which consists of sprinkling gold or silver powder on the pattern and then fixing it with new layers of polished lacquer. After drying, the pattern appears by polishing with charcoal.

This decoration is largely inspired by the prints of the famous series "Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji" made by the renowned Japanese painter Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) who revolutionized the painting of the time.

Meaning of the motives

In these prints, the sacred mountain Mount Fuji, the highest point of Japan, is represented from every angle, at any time of day and night, in all seasons and all weathers, in close-up or as a distant detail but always present - a pretext to describe the beauty of nature and its relationship with man. 

On the pen 'Mount Fuji and Wave', the mountain seems far away between the huge waves that have made Hokusai famous, but is also illuminated by the bright orange reflections of dawn or dusk, and thus keeps an undeniable presence.

It is said that for Debussy, this print was his greatest source of inspiration to compose La Mer.

Used Technique

The technique used is Hira Maki-e, which consists of sprinkling gold or silver powder on the pattern and then fixing it with new layers of polished lacquer. After drying, the pattern appears by polishing with charcoal.