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Namiki

Logo: A.Dabbene, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons3

Japanese fountain pen brand

Namiki is a Japanese brand of writing implements, most specifically, fountain pens, owned by the Pilot Corporation. Namiki is mostly famous for its handmade maki-e (a Japanese lacquerware craft with a wide range of fine and decorative arts) designs on urushi-based lacquers. "Namiki" is the surname of Ryosuke Namiki, the founder of the Pilot Corporation, named "Namiki Manufacturing Company" until 1938 when it became "Pilot Pen Co., Ltd.".2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1983Founded1

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Namiki is a Japanese brand of writing implements, most specifically, fountain pens, owned by the Pilot Corporation. Namiki is mostly famous for its handmade maki-e (a Japanese lacquerware craft with a wide range of fine and decorative arts) designs on urushi-based lacquers.2

Corporate structure

Namiki is part of a group headed by Pilot Corporation. 2 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Most of the fountain pens had been made of ebonite, a material that combines sulfur and rubber. However, ebonite changed color and lost its shine as the years went by. Being aware of this, the Namiki Co. Ltd. (current "Pilot Corporation") started to try different methods and materials to overcome the problem. After some attempts, they discovered that lacquer coating could tolerate deterioration and make pens more durable. They also tried painting designs on fountain bodies, using the maki-e technique, The process would be later patented by Pilot.

In 1925 the Namiki brand was launched to market, with lacquer artists Shisui Rokkaku and Gonroku Matsuda invited to make fountain pens. Ryosuke Namiki and Masao Wada (founders of Pilot Co. in 1918) traveled to promote their maki-e pens in Western countries. In 1926, a Pilot Office was opened in London, England, and four years later a contract was signed with the Alfred Dunhill Ltd. to commercialize Namiki pens in the main European cities and the United States under the brand "Dunhill-Namiki Made in Japan". The brand would later expand to New York, Shanghai and Singapore.

From Wikipedia’s article on Namiki, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • fountain pen

Listed on Wikidata.1

Namiki fountain pens and non-disposable Pilot fountain pens share the Pilot/Namiki proprietary ink refill cartridge, with inks available in several colors. Converters of both the piston type and squeeze type are also available to allow Namiki and Pilot fountain pens to be filled from ink bottles.

The curve-sided Namiki ink bottle has an inner inkwell to keep the nib steady during filling and also to allow almost the last few drops of ink to be taken from the bottle into a pen.

As of November 2019, collections commercialized by Namiki include the "Emperor", the most renowned collection of the Namiki brand. All models have a base layer of Urushi with Maki-e art drawn on to the base layer. There are seven models in this collection, Gold Fish (金魚), Dragon (龍), Owl (梟), Kylin (麒麟), Carp on Waterfall (鯉の滝登り), and Treasure (宝).

Other collections are Yukari, Yukari Royale, Chinkin, Nippon Art, Urushi and Limited Edition.

From Wikipedia’s article on Namiki, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1983Founded Founded in Tokyo1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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