Thank you so much for an informative review - Japanese artisans are amazing! You weren't to know kimono refers to the garment - it's a culture thing. In Rome with friends they asked for 'latte'' as one would order in England, and they got milk, not coffee!
I've enjoyed seeing the amazing Namiki pens that you've been featuring recently, but there's something about this bamboo pen that I find particularly appealing. The depth and color is so attractive.
The translation also says special fountain pen I believe. I love nakaya! For me, I prefer the writing experience with these over most pens. The makie is completely different to that of Namiki and I feel that it’s more hand completed. My herb decoration although beautiful, definitely feels more mass produced. I’m really impressed that it took 9 months to make this. I loved that you highlighted the customisation of this pen too! This is something people often forget. My next nakaya I’d love to get custom painted from one of my designs! So I’m currently working on that. Interestingly on the nakaya website the clip has makie applied too !
Glad you like it! Yes they offered me different options but I preferred not to have a clip just to get the full image - I sent them images of different parts of the two bamboo woods on their website asking for combinations of the two, and they were very responsive. A most enjoyable experience barring the waiting!
Good looking pen, thanks for sharing. I have several Nakaya and enjoy them. I know this is pedantic but the bags these pens come in are not kimono. They are fukuro (or bukuro as is sometimes romanized). They may be made of kimono material but kimono are anything but bags. Appreciate the videos, they are the best I know of showcasing these wonderful pens.
I didn't know that, thanks Jon... I've been in Japan many times but when I hear that these bags are made from kimono material I didn't draw the distinction that they aren't called kimonos (assuming the wrapping nature of the kimono was being applied to the pen). I shouldn't be surprised knowing the vast array of different names for things that may look very similar in Japan. Fukuro it is then going forward!
@@JapansPerfectPens Yeah, I felt bad about even mentioning it. Everyone in Western pen realm calls the pouches kimono so if you change nobody will even know what you are talking about! In addition to collecting Japanese pens I also collect nihonto ("swords"). In the nihonto space there exist very similar bags albeit bigger for katana, wakizashi, tanto, etc. These are often made of kimono fabric and are referred to as fukuro/bukuro. At least in the West nihonto collectors are generally very uptight and love their jargon. Fancy pen collectors are even more rare but seem both less educated in the urushi/maki-e craft and more friendly. To be fair there is really very limited information on urushi/maki-e available in the West and many of the themes are culturally specific. Often, we enjoy the designs even if they do not mean anything to us. That's fine, liking the art is sufficient, but one of the aspects of your videos that I enjoy is a broader appreciation of the subject matter and an eye for Eastern artistic design.
Thanks Jon, I'm happy to learn :) the information really is limited, each time I do a review I'm scouring the internet and mostly it is the same sites repeating what one of them came up with.. at least the aesthetics are something I can see, unlike for example understanding every nuance of a pen like the Emperor Treasures. I also love Japanese temple gardens and have been to many but beyond the look I certainly don't understand them the way they are designed to be understood. I've seen various nihonto for sale around Japan and the look like another massive thing which years of study could be sunk into.
An absolutely gorgeous pen, thank you very much for sharing. This one is my top most grail pen (the version with the conical ends)
Thank you so much for an informative review - Japanese artisans are amazing! You weren't to know kimono refers to the garment - it's a culture thing. In Rome with friends they asked for 'latte'' as one would order in England, and they got milk, not coffee!
I've enjoyed seeing the amazing Namiki pens that you've been featuring recently, but there's something about this bamboo pen that I find particularly appealing. The depth and color is so attractive.
Yes, very different - most Nakayas are colourful pens, most Namikis aside from the vermillion urushi are black pens with maki-e work on them.
The translation also says special fountain pen I believe. I love nakaya! For me, I prefer the writing experience with these over most pens. The makie is completely different to that of Namiki and I feel that it’s more hand completed. My herb decoration although beautiful, definitely feels more mass produced.
I’m really impressed that it took 9 months to make this. I loved that you highlighted the customisation of this pen too! This is something people often forget.
My next nakaya I’d love to get custom painted from one of my designs! So I’m currently working on that.
Interestingly on the nakaya website the clip has makie applied too !
Glad you like it! Yes they offered me different options but I preferred not to have a clip just to get the full image - I sent them images of different parts of the two bamboo woods on their website asking for combinations of the two, and they were very responsive. A most enjoyable experience barring the waiting!
Brilliant review of an extraordinary pen; thank you.
Thanks Joel, it is certainly a fine looking pen, glad you enjoyed it.
Omg you're doing nakayas 🥰 hopefully not the last time.
Yes I hope so too, I'll see if I can get my hands on some more as there is so much variation.
@@JapansPerfectPens where are you based ? Potentially I could send pens in if you like
I sent an email to your channel address
@@JapansPerfectPens I did get it yesterday, apologies for not responding yet!
Good looking pen, thanks for sharing. I have several Nakaya and enjoy them. I know this is pedantic but the bags these pens come in are not kimono. They are fukuro (or bukuro as is sometimes romanized). They may be made of kimono material but kimono are anything but bags. Appreciate the videos, they are the best I know of showcasing these wonderful pens.
I didn't know that, thanks Jon... I've been in Japan many times but when I hear that these bags are made from kimono material I didn't draw the distinction that they aren't called kimonos (assuming the wrapping nature of the kimono was being applied to the pen). I shouldn't be surprised knowing the vast array of different names for things that may look very similar in Japan. Fukuro it is then going forward!
@@JapansPerfectPens Yeah, I felt bad about even mentioning it. Everyone in Western pen realm calls the pouches kimono so if you change nobody will even know what you are talking about! In addition to collecting Japanese pens I also collect nihonto ("swords"). In the nihonto space there exist very similar bags albeit bigger for katana, wakizashi, tanto, etc. These are often made of kimono fabric and are referred to as fukuro/bukuro. At least in the West nihonto collectors are generally very uptight and love their jargon. Fancy pen collectors are even more rare but seem both less educated in the urushi/maki-e craft and more friendly. To be fair there is really very limited information on urushi/maki-e available in the West and many of the themes are culturally specific. Often, we enjoy the designs even if they do not mean anything to us. That's fine, liking the art is sufficient, but one of the aspects of your videos that I enjoy is a broader appreciation of the subject matter and an eye for Eastern artistic design.
Thanks Jon, I'm happy to learn :) the information really is limited, each time I do a review I'm scouring the internet and mostly it is the same sites repeating what one of them came up with.. at least the aesthetics are something I can see, unlike for example understanding every nuance of a pen like the Emperor Treasures. I also love Japanese temple gardens and have been to many but beyond the look I certainly don't understand them the way they are designed to be understood. I've seen various nihonto for sale around Japan and the look like another massive thing which years of study could be sunk into.