Sailor Buddhist Hannya Sutra Pens

[stan]

Below is a picture of three different types together. The Sailor Hannya sutra pen is extremely rare and little seen, even in Japan. I don't remember ever seeing one for sale on eBay. Some collector friends in Japan were astonished when I told them I had two. And, now a third has joined the group. Sailor made another in the early 1980s and used the Hannya Sutra as a motif again a few years ago on a sterling Profit 21. This group may not be together for very long so I thought to share this file photo with everyone.

 

The one on the left is polished sterling. It's mate in brushed is in the middle and the one on the right is slightly larger.

Edited April 12, 2008 by stan

[callida]

They're beautiful, stan. Do you know what the characters say?

 

Are they part of the series of "ancient scripts" LEs which includes the Ancient Chinese Characters pen? I got to hold this recently and it's a really gorgeous pen.

[stan]

They're beautiful, stan. Do you know what the characters say?

 

Are they part of the series of "ancient scripts" LEs which includes the Ancient Chinese Characters pen? I got to hold this recently and it's a really gorgeous pen.

 

 

No. They are not. The pens pictured are from the 1970s. At this time both Sailor and Pilot both made pens with inscriptions of the Hannya Sutra.

 

Please go here for a translation. there are others online and all are similar.

Edited April 12, 2008 by stan

[purpledog]

Stan,

 

I wonder if you show how the nib looks like? And what is the length of each pen?

 

thanks

purpledog

Edited April 12, 2008 by purpledog

[bgray]

I second the statement above to see the pens uncapped.

 

Also - those are some of the best looking clips I've ever seen (not discounting the rest of the pen).

Edited April 13, 2008 by bgray

[stan]

The left (above) or bottom below pen is polished sterling. The others are brushed and one is slightly smaller than the other. the polished model is slightly used. the others are new.

 

Some additional pictures. Please click to enlarge for the best resolution:

 

 

Edited April 13, 2008 by stan

[Phthalo]

Beautiful!

[MYU]

Delicious!

 

They nicely rival the Pilot equivalent Buddhist scripture pens.

[Deirdre]

I've got to say -- the fan used as a backdrop is also stunning!

[kamakura-pens]

Here are some images of the Pilot versions of the Hanny Sutra Pens

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/SiteImages/BhudistScripturesSilver2.jpg

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/SiteImages/BhudistScripturesSilver.jpg

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/PenImages/PilotDeluxSutra.jpg

 

And here is an image of our own Kamakura Pens LE with the Hannay Sutra...Only five pens left out of 200!

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/SiteImages/Hannya/Heart-3.jpg

Edited April 13, 2008 by kamakura-pens

[stan]

Here is the complete group of Pilot Buddhist Custom series of pens. With it are two made-to-order limited editions. One doesn't often see the entire entire group together at one time.

 

 

[Nikolaos]

Beautiful pens Stan. I was just sort of comparing them with my Buddhist Pilot pens. According to my wife, the font used on the Pilot pens is closer to the traditional brush stroke than that used on the Sailor one. She also pointed that some of the characters used in the Sailor are simplified Chinese. To me they all look the same....very impressive pens, both the Pilot and the Sailor versions.

 

Thanks for the wonderful photos

 

Nikolaos

[purpledog]

I agree with Nikolaos. The fonts on the Pilot pens are more 'traditional' and they give the impression that they are carved on the pens.

 

The fonts on the Sailor pens are too modern for my liking. Interestingly, there is a subtle difference in some of the characters. E.g., 摩訶般若波羅蜜多心経 on the sailor pens and 摩訶般若波羅蜜多心經 on the pilot pens. I believe (correct me if i am wrong) both fonts are Kanji, but looking from the point of view of Hanzi (chinese characters), the fonts on the Pilot pens are more reflective of Hanzi. I cannot get to see more of the characters on the pens from the photos, but I guess other deviations are 舍利子 on the Pilot pens and 舎利子 on the Sailor pens.

 

Besides, the characters on the Pilot pen cover the whole barrel. Aesthetically to me, this is more appealing.

 

But these are just my opinion. Both Pilot and Sailor pens have their own strong points.

 

purpledog

Edited April 13, 2008 by purpledog

[Taki]

They are very nice, but one thing a bit annoys me is that if you post the cap the writing goes two ways and looks strange, but I guess it's inevitable.

 

Also the kanjis are simplified version used in Japanese, and a little different from the ones used in China.

Edited April 13, 2008 by Taki

[jlepens]

Such beautiful pens. One day I hope to own one. Dr. Ron, I have been looking wistfully at your LE pen. Wish I had the money now but 5 people will be very happy with those pens.

 

 

One day!

[bgray]

Wow, Stan.

 

Those are phenomenal.

 

It looks like the caps are friction fit, right?

[Renzhe]

Whoa. There's one in zhuanshu... I don't think they could fit the whole thing on the pen though.

 

About 經 and 経:經 is the traditional form, used in Hong Kong, ROC, and by Chinese who emigrated before the script reform . Japan uses 経, which is a vulgar script variant (俗體字) of 經, and can be interpreted as a simplification. The PRC uses a third simplification, 经.

Edited April 20, 2008 by Renzhe

[Skyppere]

Here are some images of the Pilot versions of the Hanny Sutra Pens

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/SiteImages/BhudistScripturesSilver2.jpg

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/SiteImages/BhudistScripturesSilver.jpg

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/PenImages/PilotDeluxSutra.jpg

 

And here is an image of our own Kamakura Pens LE with the Hannay Sutra...Only five pens left out of 200!

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/SiteImages/Hannya/Heart-3.jpg

 

Heavy HEAVY sigh... Yes, that's the one...although I think there is an earlier version...

skyppere

[Skyppere]

Here is the complete group of Pilot Buddhist Custom series of pens. With it are two made-to-order limited editions. One doesn't often see the entire entire group together at one time.

 

 

For some reason, the attachment doesn't come up... or isn't clickable or or or... for me anyway...

skyppere

[Strang]

I think it's because this thread is over a year old and the pics have been taken down by the OP, but that's only a guess.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Strang