Matsubokkuri - Maki-e Hayachine Usuyukisou (White) | Glass Pen

This pen doesn’t hold a stone — it holds a painting. Across its white shaft, a Wajima lacquer artisan has hand-painted a single spray of hayachine usuyukisou, dusting gold and silver metal powder into wet lacquer stroke by stroke, so the silvery petals and the gold-flecked flower heart both catch light differently depending on the angle. No two pens come out quite the same, since each one is painted freehand rather than stamped or printed.

A Flower From One Mountain

Hayachine usuyukisou (ハヤチネウスユキソウ, Leontopodium hayachinense) grows wild in exactly one place: the serpentine rock faces of Mount Hayachine in Iwate Prefecture, found nowhere else in Japan or the world. It’s a close relative of the European edelweiss, and shares that flower’s trademark — small blooms wrapped in dense white woolly bracts that look, from a distance, like a dusting of snow that never melted. Because the species exists only on this single mountain, it has become something of a symbol of Iwate’s alpine landscape, and is treated as a protected, carefully watched wildflower rather than one picked freely.

Wajima Lacquer, Painted by Hand

The decoration technique is maki-e (蒔絵), literally “sprinkled picture” — an artisan paints the design in lacquer, then sprinkles fine gold or silver powder onto it before it fully sets, building up the metallic sheen in layers rather than applying it as a single coat. Wajima, on Japan’s Noto Peninsula, has been a center for this lacquer craft for centuries, and Matsubokkuri commissions its maki-e pens from artisans working in that tradition rather than painting them in-house.

The Pen Itself

This white-shaft version is available only with an F (fine, roughly 0.2–0.3mm) nib — the maki-e series is made to this single width across every design, since the detailed hand-painting is the focus rather than a choice of line weight. Each pen is crafted to order, so a short wait between purchase and dispatch should be expected.

Specifications

• Shaft color: White
• Nib width: Fine (F) only
• Decoration: Hand-painted maki-e lacquer by a Wajima-trained artisan
• Material: Borosilicate glass body, lacquer, gold and silver powder
• Made in Japan, crafted to order

Using and Caring for a Maki-e Glass Pen

Dip the nib fully before writing; the spiral-cut grooves hold enough ink for several lines per dip. Rinse the nib under lukewarm water after use, but keep water and solvents away from the painted shaft itself — wipe the lacquered surface with a soft, dry cloth rather than washing it, since repeated moisture can dull the metal powder over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is this pen only available in one nib size?
The maki-e series is painted to showcase the lacquer artwork itself, so Matsubokkuri offers it in a single fine nib across every flower design rather than a range of widths.

Is the painting the same on every pen?
Close, but not identical. Each shaft is hand-painted individually by a lacquer artisan, so small variations in brushwork and powder placement are part of owning one rather than a flaw.

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