Sailor 1911 King of Pens Mouko Ebonite RT Naginata Togi Fountain pen

The once-a-year release of Sailor Pen’s coveted ebonite series is here, crafted employing the colored ebonite “Chirashi (scattering)” technique and the 21K gold Naginata Togi nib, following the past releases of KAIHA, KOUEN, RYOKKYO, SEKKEI and SYOKEI. This year Sailor add the Sailor 1911 King of Pens Mouko Ebonite RT Naginata Togi Fountain pen to their growing collection of ebonite fountain pens equipped with the 21K gold KOP Naginata Togi nib.

The color of the Sailor 1911 King of Pens Mouko Ebonite RT Naginata Togi Fountain pen is inspired by “Tiger”, a masterpiece by Jakuchu Ito. and is limited to only 500 pieces worldwide.

“Tiger” was painted by Jakuchu as a reproduction of “Ferocious Tiger” by Chinese artist, Li Gonglin (belonging to Kyoto Shodenji Temple’s collection). Although “Tiger” is a reproduction, it possesses characteristics different from the original. The hairs on the tiger in the original are meticulously painted one by one with brownish-yellow paint, while Jakuchu painted his “Tiger” by adding fine lines with ink on a background of brownish-yellow paint, highlighting the contrast between the yellow and black parts more clearly than the original. Jakuchu also used ink to create an outline, giving the tiger a more pronounced silhouette.

Jakuchu Ito (1716 – 1800)

Born in Kyoto as the eldest son of a family in the produce wholesale business at Kyoto’s Nishiki-koji, he became committed to painting and Zen Buddhism. At the age of 40, he turned the family business over to his younger brother to dedicate himself to painting.

He first studied the Kano style of art but felt the need to incorporate more elements, and went on to study on his own, polishing his skills by reproducing ancient decorative paintings from China’s Yuan and Ming dynasties as well as Japan’s Korin style of art. He also trained in sketching flora and fauna and was particularly skilled in portraying barnyard fowl. He is renowned for works that took existing art styles and distorted them into fantastical and descriptive expressions.

Note: There may be small specks due to foreign substances contained in the raw materials mixed in during the manufacturing process of Ebonite. This is a unique property of the ebonite material and is not a defect.

The Sailor 1911 ‘King of Pens’ (KOP) is introduced as the top of the range, developed as the symbol of Sailor’s technology, quality and writing perfection gained with the experience of over 100 years. Special attention has been given to the oversized 21K solid gold nib (the life and soul of the fountain pen), which provides top writing quality. The large sized Sailor fountain pen is handcrafted from Ebonite, a naturally produced resin material requiring special production processes. Ebonite material is very warm to the touch and its rich elasticity and unique texture provides the ultimate comfort, quality and character to the product.

The Sailor King of Pens (KOP) fountain pen uses an oversized Naginata Togi 21k gold nib and has a cartridge/converter filling mechanism.

Sailor pens was established in 1911 in Japan, becoming the first to produce fountain pens in their home country. They have subsequently built a first-class reputation in the manufacture of the highest quality nibs, with all parts made in their own factory in Hiroshima. Their flagship collections are the classic 1911 and boldly designed Professional Gear, all available with a 14k or 21k gold nib. The Sailor name comes from founder Kyugoro Sakata's British sailor friend who introduced him to fountain pens.