Namiki is the luxury maki-e fountain pen brand of Japan's Pilot Corporation, tracing its origins to 1918, when engineer Ryosuke Namiki founded the company that became Pilot. In the 1920s the firm began decorating fountain pens with maki-e, the Japanese art of sprinkled gold and urushi lacquer, and a landmark partnership with Alfred Dunhill in 1930 brought Dunhill-Namiki maki-e pens to international clients.

Namiki pens are decorated by hand by master artisans, many belonging to the Kokkokai, the artisan group associated with the brand since 1931. Techniques include togidashi maki-e, taka maki-e (raised lacquer), raden mother-of-pearl inlay, and chinkin gold-inlaid engraving, applied over urushi lacquer bodies with motifs drawn from Japanese nature and mythology.

The range is led by the oversized Emperor collection, followed by Yukari Royale, Yukari, and the more accessible Nippon Art series, along with limited editions that can take months to complete and command five-figure prices. All pens are fitted with Pilot's in-house gold nibs.

Namiki pens are sold through authorized fine writing retailers worldwide and presented on the brand's official site. As the artistic pinnacle of Pilot Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Namiki occupies a distinct position in fine writing: pens that function as miniature works of traditional Japanese lacquer art.

Luxury Pens & Stationery

Namiki is Pilot Corporation's maki-e art pen brand, decorated by Kokkokai master artisans using urushi lacquer, sprinkled gold, mother-of-pearl inlay, and chinkin engraving. From the flagship Emperor collection to the Nippon Art series, each pen is hand-decorated in Japan, continuing a tradition that began with the Dunhill-Namiki pens of 1930.