Hi everyone, it’s Miriam from JetPens and today, we’re looking back on the last hundred years of Japanese stationery
keep watching to see how it’s evolved into the stationery we love today.
If you enjoy learning about Japanese stationery, like, comment, and subscribe for more content like this.
Let’s begin.
1920s
If you’re a fountain pen lover, you know that the big three fountain pen companies—
Sailor, Pilot, and Platinum—were founded in the 1910s.
They spent the 1920s experimenting with various pen features.
Both Platinum and Pilot embraced maki-e— their pens were decorated by sprinkling metal powder to attach to lacquer.
You can get the modern examples of these pens on JetPens.
In 1929, fountain pens with gold nibs became very popular.
Sailor had already been producing gold nibs,
so it was a natural fit for them to start making their own fountain pens with gold nibs too.
1930s
In 1931, Platinum began to issue fountain pen catalogs, allowing customers to place orders through the mail.
Before this, people could only buy them by going to a store.
Ballpoint pens were also invented in the ‘30s by Laszlo Biro in Argentina,
but Japan didn’t jump on the bandwagon until the...
1940s
Sailor created the first Japanese ballpoint pen in 1948.
Following this release, ballpoint pens became quite trendy in Japan.
In 1949, Sailor began mass producing Japan’s first fountain pens made with plastic.
At the time, caps and barrels all had been made from ebonite, a compound of sulfur and rubber,
or celluloid, a compound derived from cotton and camphor resin.
Unlike earlier materials, plastic bodies could last longer and were easier to manufacture.
1950s
In 1952, two years after its founding, Midori produced Japan's first business planners.
What started out as a popular gift in the corporate world would eventually spawn modern “techō culture”.
Techō, or planner culture celebrates the joys of organizing and creatively expressing your life in a paper planner.
The Hobonichi Techo and Jibun Techo, two of our most popular planners, are great examples of this.
Of course, we also love Midori’s MD Diaries,
which use their luxurious MD paper that they’ve been perfecting since the 1960s.
Meanwhile, in the pencil world, until 1955, most Japanese mechanical pencils extended lead via a screw mechanism,
which was popularized by electronics company Sharp founder Tokuji Hayakawa.
Suddenly, push button mechanism pencils became the standard— they made it easier to keep writing.
In the same year, the company SEED invented the first plastic (or vinyl) eraser.
It erased much more cleanly than rubber erasers.
You can find SEED’s plastic erasers on our site today!
1960s
The 1960s saw three major releases.
In 1963, Pentel released their water-based felt tip pen.
Sales were initially slow, until it was later discovered by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who used it to sign photographs.
It was then rebranded as the Pentel Sign Pen and brought back to Japan as a sleeper hit.
In 1964, Ohto developed the world’s first ball pen with water-based ink, calling it the roller pen.
We have the modern version of Ohto’s Fude Ball Rollerball Pen:
its pigment ink is water and fade resistant.
In 1965, Sun-Star released the Arm Pencil Case,
a durable, polycarbonate case, kicking off the popularity of box type pen cases.
We have the updated version of it on our site so we can attest to its durability.
1970s
In 1972, Sailor created the first fude, or brush, pen.
Kuretake soon followed in 1973, leveraging their experience with sumi ink and felt tip pens.
The fude pen was like a traditional calligraphy brush but used ink cartridges,
removing the need for a separate sumi ink block.
You can try out Kuretake’s most popular brush pens with our sampler.
Japan’s first fluorescent highlighter was also developed in the ‘70s by Tombow,
following the massive success of their cult-classic MONO line, which was released in the ‘60s.
1980s
The ‘80s saw several major breakthroughs in ink formulations, with Sakura being at the forefront.
In 1982, Sakura released Pigma ink:
pigment-based ink that was archival and waterproof, unlike dye-based inks.
Two years later in 1984, Sakura invented the first gel-based ink pen: the Sakura Ballsign,
which was the precursor to the more famous Gelly Roll.
These pens are still popular today, and you can find them all on our site!
1990s
Color pens took the ‘90s by storm.
These pens were especially popular with Japanese students!
In Japanese schools, teachers often used different colors of chalk, so students color-coded their notes accordingly.
The ‘90s saw the release of cult-classic gel pen lines like the Pilot Hi-Tec-C, Pentel Milky, and Zebra Marble.
If you want to learn more, watch our History of Gel Pens video!
2000s
This decade saw the creation of decorative washi tape.
In 2006, three women approached the company Kamoi,
hoping to write a book about using masking tape for art as it was only used industrially before.
One thing led to another, and in 2008, Kamoi created mt tape.
Since then, Kamoi has released tons of mt washi tape, many of which you can get at JetPens.
The innovations didn’t stop with washi tapes—
In 2004, Maruman, a paper company that started in the 1920s manufacturing sketchbooks,
created the Mnemosyne notebook.
Designed for working professionals, the notebook features high-quality paper and thoughtful details.
Pilot developed the thermosensitive FriXion “erasable” ink in 2006,
and in 2008, Uni invented the Kuru Toga,
a mechanical pencil that rotates the lead as you write, resulting in a consistently crips, sharp line.
Both companies also created customizable multi pens for the market:
the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto and Uni Style Fit.
2010s
In the 2010s, brands started making products for more specific purposes,
constantly innovating to meet every need a customer might have.
For example, Kokuyo made Soft Ring Notebooks so you won’t hurt your wrist on metal rings;
Uni created Propus highlighters with transparent windows in their tips, to let you see where you're marking;
and Lihit Lab released convertible pen cases to make carrying pens around easy and fun.
2020s
In the first few years of the 2020s, we’ve already seen Japanese companies experiment with more innovative ink formulas.
The Zebra Sarasa R and Uni-ball One, for example, both feature extra saturated inks:
dark inks look darker, and bright inks are more vibrant.
Pilot also revamped their thermosensitive FriXion ink to be more vibrant in the Zone series.
Other stationery brands have gotten creative with pen tips,
like the Sun-Star Ninipie Dual Tip Highlighter, which has a chisel tip and fineliner right next to each other!
Recently, companies have started focusing on stress relief.
At the end of 2019, Zebra released the bLen,
a ballpoint pen designed to eliminate vibrations and rattling that can cause distractions.
Pentel soon followed up with the Calme, a minimalist ballpoint pen made for people who are sensitive to sounds.
As we proceed through the 2020s, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for Japanese stationery.
We weren’t able to cover all the amazing innovations from Japan,
so give us a like and make sure to subscribe to our channel for more content like this.
You can find all of the products mentioned and more at JetPens.com,
the place for pen and stationery lovers.
Thanks for watching!
Bye!
tada!
When I found out we were doing this video I dug around the house and I found this in my husband's stash.
And this is, vintage Pentel Felt Tip Pens from the 80's.
The pens still work.
We're missing some colors though, sorry.
But yeah! I thought it would be cool to show these in the video.
Let us know in the comments if you have any vintage stationery lying around, and we'll see you in the next video!
I can't shout-out your name but, commenter,
you commented on one of my videos because in the beginning I'm always like: "Hi I'm Miriam, a buyer at JetPens"
and then you replied "Hi Miriam, I'm a buyer a JetPens too!" and it cracked me up.
So yes, we are all buyers at JetPens.
Bye!
[Stephanie]: Ohhhh Miriam, I remember that. Yeah yeah yeah I remember. Yes yes yes
In 1931, Platinum began to issue fountain pen catalogs. Before this, people could only buy them by going to a store.
[Stephanie]: Can you imagine?
and now you buy them online at JetPens dot com.
[Stephanie]: That's right.
[dings] Ah turn that off
[dings continue]
So sorry...
What started out as a popular gift in the corporate world would eventually spawn modern t-
dang it
[sound effects]
Pilot-