Pontifex Maximus Kazuko YAMAGUCHI, Artist Pen 2025 * Philosophical Instruments

For the first series of artist pens, carte blanche was given to six of the most highly regarded lacquer artists in Japan. Each of these fountain pens is a unique (1/1) work of art and represents the highest level of contemporary urushi art.

Kazuko Yamaguchi (1948) is a painter at heart who treats her maki-e artworks like a canvas. Her works typically display dynamically portrayed flowers and petals, swept by gusts of wind in a recognizable style of iro-togidashi-maki-e that combines white, red, and pink urushi. Lighting up the scenery are small shards of abalone raden and the outlines of the flowers, which are emphasized by lines of golden hira-maki-e.

The Pontifex Maximus is the first fountain pen model. In Latin, Pontifex means "bridge-builder". Made in Belgium from Japanese ebonite and featuring a Japanese eyedropper filling system, this oversized fountain pen is a well balanced writing instrument and offers a generous canvas for urushi and maki-e artwork.