Platinum Urishi Maki Sansui

Description

“China,” a worldwide name for porcelain similar to urushi, also identifies as “Japan”  because the material represents Japanese craft. The name urushi derives from the word “uruwashii (beautiful)” or “uruoshi (moisten).” name used for more than 7,000 years. Since the sap of urushi also has strong adhesive properties, it was a significant material that provided protection and extra strength to tableware such as bowls.

Urushi (Japanese lacquer)

Urushi comes from the brown sap obtained from the Japanese lacquer tree. The mixture of this sap and the diatomaceous earth provides adhesion to the tableware and furniture by improving the durability of the products. The unique method, called nunokise, consists of urushi coating,  applied for reinforcement after covering the tableware and other products with cloth; known as very durable and remains in use today in such areas as Wajima (the current Ishikawa Prefecture) and Negoro (the current Wakayama Prefecture).

Japanese lacquer trees grow mainly in high-humidity areas. China, Japan, and Southeast Asia cultivate this lacquer widely. The trees take eight to nine years after planting to extract the sap. For this reason, China’s exported urushi, used mainly for undercoating to compensate for Japan’s lack of Japanese lacquer trees. Finding an everyday product using higher-quality Japanese urushi has become challenging recently. (ki-urushi, a name used after the refinement and strain of urushi)

Mixing pigments into ki-urushi, colored urushi, such as black or shu (red),  enables their use as adhesives, coloring, and decorations.

The surface of urushi is darker after application due to the brown color of the urushiol element found in urushi. The transparency gradually increases after exposure to air and ultraviolet light, and its original bright color returns.

At the same time, urushi hardens into a more robust surface, causing all artifacts stored in Shosoin, a treasure house in Nara, to still maintain their shapes and the brightness of the colors over a long time. (Urushi deteriorates if overexposed to the ultraviolet light)）

Platinum Urishi Maki Sansui Fountain Pen

The Platinum 3776 Urushi lacquered Maki-e Sansui fountain pen features a beautiful scene with floral-decorated fans. The Sansui is screen Maki-e and contains urushi lacquer over a resin body. The pen boasts a very smooth-writing 14k gold nib, and the cap features Platinum’s patented Slip and Seal mechanism, which prevents the nib and feed from drying out for up to two years.

The Platinum 3776 Senmen fountain pen is filled with the included proprietary converter for use with bottled ink. The pen is presented in a luxurious wooden gift box.