Japanese carved pens by Shoukei, c. 1957

At first glance, the stunning pair of 1950s Japanese fountain pens in this article appear to be classic examples of Kamakura-bori. In reality, they represent an even rarer decoration technique—carved artwork that penetrates deep into the wood caps and barrels themselves. Both are decorated by the Japanese artisan Shoukei around 1957 where the carving technique uses cuts that go through thinner layers of urushi coating and deep into the wooden substrate—plum wood on one pen and olive wood on the other. Each has an iconic Japanese design, one with a Hannya, a Noh theater jealous female demon mask and the other with a scene of Mount Fuji with a cascade of pine branches.

Read the story about these interesting pens here:

https://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/UnbrandedJapanese/Shoukei1957.htm

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