Namiki Emperor Urushi Black Fountain pen

Namiki’s Emperor fountain pen is finished in natural urushi lacquer. Lacquer is an excellent varnish, which has been used in Japan since ancient times. Not only does it possess strong and durable qualities, the more a lacquered pen is used, the more gracefully it fits into your hand while retaining its authentic charm. The urushi coating of the pens is built up by adding many thin layers of urushi, a process that takes many months to complete, because each layer needs to cure completely before the next can be applied. The coating of the Emperor fountain pen is deepened by using non-oil lacquer for the final coat and a polishing method called ‘Roiro Shiage’ (non-oil lacquer finish), a process of repeatedly rubbing in raw lacquer after polishing with a special charcoal.

The Emperor is enhanced with a traditional 18-karat gold nib featuring the iconic silhouette of Mount Fuji. This fantastic No. 50 18 karat gold nib is very large and dwarfs the nibs on all other writing instruments. It is therefore nicknamed the ‘No. 50 Jumbo’. It is even bigger than a #8 sized nib or the Montblanc 149 nib.

The Namiki Emperor has an eyedropper filling system and an incredible ink capacity of 6 ml. It uses the same ink stopping function as the original Namiki eyedropper pens from the 1930's, which regulates the flow and prevents leakage. Once the barrel is filled up with the included eyedropper, the section can be screwed back in. The ink is now contained inside the barrel of the pen. By turning the knob on the end of the pen, a valve opens and ink can flow from the barrel to the reservoir connected to the writing section. By shutting the valve again, only the ink that is in the reservoir is used to write. Once the reservoir is depleted, it can be filled up again with ink from the barrel. For longer writing sessions it is also possible to leave the valve open, for a continuous flow.

At the start of the 20th century, a fountain pen utilizing the Japanese traditional art of Maki-e was born. The strong and attractive body with a lacquer finish, and the fine and elegant design by the craftsmen are highly acclaimed around the world, and those skills and spirit have been passed down to the world's most famous name in Maki-e fountain pens: Namiki. Since the brand’s inception in 1925, as the top maker of Maki-e fountain pens conveying Japanese traditional culture, Namiki fountain pens encompass the ultimate fusion of skill and spirit inherited from our predecessors. This is also the foundation of the Pilot fountain pen brand.