Pontifex Maximus Hidemitsu TAKANA, 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.

Hidemitsu Takana (º1956) was born in the renowned seaside lacquer-producing town of Wajima and rigorously trained in maki-e from the early age of sixteen. He bravely distanced himself from his traditional training to focus on developing his own artistic vision. His work focuses on his complex relationship with the ocean, which brings and consumes life, as was once more made poignantly clear during the 2024 Noto peninsula earthquake.

 Hidemitsu's pen is in full togidashi-maki-e and displays a Sayori (Japanese halfbeak vis) composed of sheets of silver hyomon, raden and maki-e. Rather than attempting to cramp maki-e into the long and thin surface of the fountain pen, Hidemitsu chose and brilliantly executed motifs that reinforce its slender shape to form a harmonious whole.

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.