Aizu maki-e is one of the traditional crafts originating from the castle town of Aizu. It is being one of the crafts with the longest ongoing history in Japan and dates back to about 400 years. Aizu maki-e is well known for its bold and decorative designs that have a gradation of colors and incorporates an expert polishing technique making them quite appealing. Applied to the fountain pen are varied lively designs of raden (an inlayed diversity of sea shells) drawing fine lines that add a gradation, which expresses the “Aurora.” The luxurious maki-e fountain pen portrays a masterpiece of art and is more than a writing instrument.

The techniques of “Raden Maki-e Aurora”

The history of urushi lacquer goes back to the Stone Age. The origin of the word urushi comes from the Japanese words uruwashi meaning “graceful” and uruosu meaning “to moisten.” The timeless art of urushi has for centuries being brought to life the intricate depth of Japanese history and culture. Today, it is used in a variety of products. Maki-e is the technique that involves the drawing of patterns in gold and silver over urushi-nuri (urushi coating). Aizu maki-e has an impressive history of about 400 years. Even today, they are still highly respected globally for their elegant styles.

For the design on the barrel, the “Aurora” is drawn, which is unusual for motif of maki-e. Two types of raden techniques are used to express an aurora; raden made by using abalone and raden created with gold leaves on the back, enhancing the bright colorfulness in different ways. Three sizes of gold flakes called nashiji-ko are sprinkled on the barrel cap, followed by urushi coating and polishing the surface to bring out the gradation. The masterpiece of decoration is created throughout an extremely long period of time and having incorporated highly skilled techniques by maki-e craftsmen.