Kamakura-Bori Pens

[mchenart]

This is a reload of my original article on the Japanese Pens forum, with proper linkage to the photographs. Enjoy!

 

Yes, I have a thing about handmade pens, especially those by artisans who use lacquer and carving knife to form their unique creations. Japanese Kamakura-bori pens, with their oblong ‘dimples’ carved into urushi on the barrel and cap, have long fascinated me. Because of the handmade nature of these pens, they come in different sizes, makes, with carved dimples small and big arranged in various fashion. No two seem to be alike. I knew right away that by getting one example of the pen would never be enough for me. So one pen leads to another, I am now the proud owner of ten Kamakura-bori’s.

 

 

First of all, Kamakura-bori might be a misnomer in describing these pens. A Kamakura-bori item is lacquerware on which the artisan first carves patterns on a wooden base, and then covers the whole surface with lacquer. The Kamakura-bori pen, as we know it, refers to those which have multiple layers of urushi applied on the cap and barrel first, and then carved. Somehow over the years, the misnomer sticks. Kamakura, of course, refers to the name of the port city near Tokyo through which Chinese lacquerware was first introduced to Japan. When I went to Kamakura a few years back, I saw craft stores selling predominantly Kamakura-bori bowls, plates and boxes in bright vermillion; it is obvious that they have become quite well known and desirable to the Japanese.

 

Whatever the description, Kamakura-bori pens are truly unique. The carved dimples create a slip-free surface that makes the pens easy to hold, but never coarse or abrasive in touch. In a way, they are reminiscent of metal pens with barley pattern or guilloche surface treatment, but are warmer in the hand because of the urushi. If you looked at the rolls of indentations long enough, you might notice a very slight misalignment here and there, or one that has been carved just a bit deeper than the others, but the overall impression you will get is one of beauty and discipline, brought about by years of hard focused work. The degree of concentration required of the artisan in creating this pattern is simply mind-boggling. The base of almost all Kamakura-bori pens is ebonite, and on top of that are applied layers of urushi in different colours, so that after it has been carved, the underlying colours show through as rings of the dimples. A fascinating effect, to say the least. As if they needed even more challenging ways to execute the dots, some craftsmen lumped four dimples into a square and arranged the squares in a checkerboard pattern, or created other arresting designs with various arrangements. However, these patterns are much rarer than the diagonally spaced, allover design that we find most prevalent.

 

 

 

There is another group of carved urushi pen with landscape or animal motifs produced around 1950 or so, but it would fall outside the scope of this article. Jim Mamoulides has recently posted a photograph he made of two such ‘pictorial’ pens on this forum: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/317353-two-japanese-pens-done-with-the-kamakura-bori-technique/

 

As far as I can tell, Kamakura-bori pens have been made in Japan since 1940 or even earlier. A lack of documentation (in English, at least) has made it difficult to pinpoint the year or the workshops where the pens were made. Even the Lambrou/Sunami book ‘Fountain Pens of Japan’ does not shed too much light on this subject. One thing we can tell for sure, that only small workshops such as Ban-ei and Yotsubishi would undertake the task of producing these pens. None of the Big Three- Pilot, Platinum, Sailor- seemed interested to have it in their catalogues, probably due to the handmade nature of the Kamakura-bori’s manufacture. One thing I’d like to point out is, that I have noticed on the earlier1950’s to 70’s pens, the carved marks are smaller and seem better executed. It would certainly take more concentrated efforts to carve smaller dots neatly than big ones, so did the artisans become lazier in the ensuing years? OK, I am probably nitpicking here.

 

True to the pedigree of such pens, almost all of them employ the Japanese eyedropper system for filling ink, except for a few recent Danitrio’s, that is. My Danitrio Kama-nuri Octogonal pen and the Takumi model use cartridge/converter, but the larger Genkai and Midori Kama-nuri’s are still Japanese eyedropper filled. And perhaps because of the higher price of these pens, they were almost always fitted with 14k or 18k (as in the case of Danitrio) nibs.

 

Here are some close-ups of fountain pens in my Kamakura-bori stable. First, two Yotsubishi from the late 1950’s. This company made some incredibly beautiful raden and maki-e pens in its heyday, and managed to produce some well executed Kamakura-bori’s as well. They ceased making pens in 1965. One of my pens has a flexy, large #5 Lifetime nib with their four-diamond logo engraved on it. In fact, you will notice the same logo on the clips of the pens. The nibs were mounted on black urushi-ed sections, as in most older Kamakura-bori pens. These two are medium sized pens with a closed length of around 13.8 cm.

 

 

Probably of the same vintage as the Yotsubishi’s, these checkerboard patterned Kamakura-bori’s exhibit the same finesse and awe factor as the former, if not more. No name or mark of manufacture is found on these pens, so their origins would remain a mystery. Interestingly, three colour layers (yellow, vermillion and burgundy) of urushi have been applied instead of two, as in most other cases. With the black base colour also showing through, you see a tantalizing rainbow effect that is just breathtaking. The delicate dimples were carved so closely together and with such precision, that they have transformed the pens (for me anyway) from mere utilitarian writing instruments into valuable works of art.

 

 

 

 

Two Ban-ei Kamakura-bori pens of slightly different vintage- the one on the left was made about 1970, and the one on the right a more recent 1990’s product. Ban-ei was a famed Tokyo workshop led by the legendary Eisuke Sakai who made urushi and maki-e fountain pens from the 1950’s to early 2000’s, including the two illustrated here. The girth of these pens (15mm diameter around the barrel) are much fatter than those on earlier offerings, sort of in the range of a MB149. The Ban-ei nibs were made by the nibmeister Ginjiro Kabutogi before 1997; after his death, his son would take over his job. The lighter coloured pen on the left is fitted with a very large #60 nibs etched with the number 4622- GK’s JIS registered number. It feels soft, but I have not inked it yet to see how it would write.

 

 

Most of us who are familiar with Japanese pens should know that Danitrio’s boss, Bernard Lyn, went to Tokyo in the 1990’s to commission a number of Ban-ei pens from E. Sakai. 200 Kamakura-bori’s were produced as a result, each bearing the workshop’s name in Kanji and the edition number on the gold cap ring. Other than that, the Ban-ei and Danitrio pens look exactly the same. Perhaps it was this initial encounter that inspired Mr. Lyn to produce Danitrio’s own Kama-nuri pens a few years back.

 

Just when we thought Kamakura-bori pens have faded into history a few years ago, Danitrio unveiled a limited number of carved pens, covering such models as Genkai, Shu-Genkai, Mikado, Takumi, and Hakkaku (Octogonal). However, to distinguish these pens from traditional Kamakura-bori’s, Danitrio called them ‘Kama-nuri’. Dimples were still carved all over the cap and barrel surface, but their urushi treatment- Roiro-migaki and Tamenuri- were the new things. My Danitrio Hakkaku, being an eight-sided and Tamenuri painted pen, shows a visible lightening of the tone on the raised edges not unlike any of the brand’s and Nakaya’s straight ahead Aka-Tamenuri offerings. Therefore extra procedures are required to make one of these pens, making it that much more labour intensive. The section was also coated Tamenurically (I have just invented a new word), and the pen’s nuri artisan, Kazushi Kaneda, has signed his name at the barrel’s end- a practice unheard of in older Kamakura-bori pens. But I would say one of the highlights of the pen is the 18k stub nib I chose, since you won’t find that on any of the older Japanese pens. It is soft and responsive, capable of creating strokes of varying widths.

 

 

 

 

 

With the escalation of labour costs and a shortage of skilled artisans, the future of Kamakura-bori pens does not look promising at all. One only needs to look at the manufacturing lull after the last Ban-ei Kamakura-bori was made some 20 years ago. In addition to the Danitrio offerings I have just mentioned, I could only find one other modern case when this kind of pen was attempted commercially. A few years back, using a favourite pen owned by the famous writer Shotaro Ikenami as prototype, Tasu-Ichi Tokyo reproduced the Kamakura-bori pen in a very small limited edition. It is cartridge-filled and priced at 320,000 Japanese yen. http://tasu1.tokyo/project_01/

 

The more enterprising minded among us might raise a legitimate question- Why not use machine or computer technology to carve those dimples, now that we have the means? This way, they will be cheaper to produce and made more accessible. Well, the resultant product with the cold, flawless array of indentations won’t be the same Kamakura-bori pens we know after all, will it?

Edited January 7, 2018 by mchenart

[zaddick]

As before, an awesome post. Thank you for sharing and redoing it with the photos.

[jar]

Thanks again.

[ScottieDarin]

I had the fortune of testing with several of the pens shown in the post.

These kamakura bori pens have an understated beauty of their own!

Sadly, I've tried to get my hands on a Danitrio like the one mchenart had, but it is quite out of my reach at the time.

Thank you for sharing such Japanese beauty with us!!

[PAKMAN]

I guess I missed the first post. Those pens are fantastic! Thanks for the post and pictures!

[eachan]

Many thanks.

Edited January 7, 2018 by eachan

[Algester]

well another legitimate question is how long will Urushi last in Japan since the entire economic system that surrounds Urushi on it's own is already... well to say as much in it's last legs

[SoulSamurai]

I learned something new today. Thanks for the great article and beautiful photos.

[ENewton]

Thank you for teaching us about these exquisite pens.

[allen_paris]

very interesting! Thanks a lot

[Caeruleum]

Thank you. Fascinating technique.

[Gloucesterman]

Please add my "name" to the above list who appreciate your interesting and informative post.

At approximately $3000 USD I can only dream of owning such a pen.

So thanks for the dream invite.

Best to All

[bobje]

ENewton’s choice of words is so appropriate — these pens are exquisite. Thank you for this post.

[jmccarty3]

I was fortunate to find a Danitrio Genkai in this pattern (the red one) a couple of years ago at Dromgoole's in Houston. It came with a broad nib, which I had ground to an oblique by Mike Masuyama. I visited Dromgoole's last week while in Houston on business, and he still has a couple of these in other colors. These pens are unusually beautiful, and the prices aren't unreasonable. No financial interest, just a happy customer.

[mchenart]

Thank you all for your positive responses. With respect to price, the newer pens do command higher prices because of the rise in material and labour costs. But many used Kamakura-bori pens can still be found at very reasonable prices in secondary market. I even found one of the checkerboard pattern pens on the Bay. Like collecting any rare or vintage pens, patience is the necessary ingredient.

[darazs]

As before, an awesome post. Thank you for sharing and redoing it with the photos.

I can’t say any more - great post, thanks!

[Kmh]

Hello

 

Could you tell me anything about the 2 pens, which I've attached photos of herewith....?

The first pen's barrel reads, "Arabian."

 

Many thanks!!!

 

Keith

[AL01]

Nice article!

 

Is that Warranted nib made by Platinum?

 

(It looks like Platinum nibs from 2000 and before.)

[penzel_washinkton]

With all due respect to the pen, it is triggering a little bit of my trypophobia

[danalgesic]

Fantastic post!  I am now also obsessed with this type of lacquer for pens, and have you to thank for it!