Photo/Illutration Glass pens on display at the Nagasawa Bungu Center in Kobe’s Chuo Ward (Yoshiaki Arai)

Glass fountain pens, always more of a novelty item than a practical tool for everyday use, are making a comeback as young artists experiment with picturesque appearances and inks of various hues.

Pens made of glass, including the nib, are thought to have been developed by a "furin" wind chime artisan toward the end of the Meiji Era (1868-1912). But there was never much demand for the Japan-invented tool, due mainly to the inconvenience of carrying something around that could break easily.

And yet, when the Bungu Joshi Haku writing material fair was held in Osaka’s Umeda district in March, the booth of a Paraglass glass pen maker was quickly swamped with visitors seeking items exclusive to the event.

A woman who works at a judicial scriveners’ office in Osaka said she has used a glass pen for the past three years, and prided herself on being able to purchase a limited-edition product by getting to the venue as soon as the fair opened.

“I rarely venture out these days (because of the pandemic), and I will be able to make good use of the pen since I now spend so much time at home,” the woman said. “This pen fascinates me, and writing with it will allow me to lose myself in my own private world.”

She said she makes it a habit to write a page in her diary every day with a glass pen.

Glass pens began drawing renewed attention around seven years ago, according to Yukino Morimura at the Nagasawa Bungu Center, a long-established stationery seller in Kobe.

She said women in particular enjoy using colorful inks to doodle, draw and write. This is because inks can promptly be changed, unlike their fountain pen counterparts, once the nib is washed in water.

She also said demand for glass pens took off again as items of cultural value featuring the beauty of Japanese traditional craftsmanship.

The pens are made manually, one at a time. 

Yuki Kaneda, 23, one of the most sought-after young glass pen artists, receives more than 200 orders a month. He also shares his glass making skills as a lecturer at the Kyobashi outlet of the Kinari Glass studio in Osaka.

Glass sticks are heated with oxygen burners to more than 1,500 degrees to create the nibs and bodies. Craftsmen carefully adjust strengths to be applied while twisting, contracting and extending the rods, which produces all sorts of patterns on the glass.

Watching a craftsman at work, it sometimes appears as if shooting stars are falling.

“The pens use glass, a vulnerable material, as the ingredient, so the transient nature may add to their beauty,” Kaneda said. “All I want is to continue producing pens that excel both in writing touch and appearance.”

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