Blog
Beautiful Maki-e: That Gorgeous Golden Glint
You may have ever looked at a pen and thought, “Is that gold glitter? How did that get there?” The answer? Maki-e. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, maki-e is: “lacquer ware...
Lucky God, Lucky Pen
Urushi and maki-e pens are often inspired by Japanese culture and mythology. The Danitrio Yokozuna series is especially suited for maki-e art. Because it’s quite a large pen, it provides...
Meet the Artisan: Yoko Sakata
We had the opportunity to interview maki-e artisan Yoko Sakata. She’s a brilliant young artisan with a lot of talent. Yoko-san painted the ShiZen Two Swimming Turtles pen, and we...
Meet the Artisan: Masaaki Sakaguchi
Masaaki Sakaguchi is an urushi artisan with decades of experience. He is a tame-nuri master and responsible for some gorgeous pens at ShiZen. Masaaki-san was born in 1967. He always...
Wajima and the Artisans
You love urushi and maki-e pens, but do you know where they began? You may never have heard of Wajima, but it’s an important place in urushi circles. Many pens...
A Tiger of a Pen
Danitrio’s largest fountain pen line is the Yokozuna. It takes its name from the highest rank a sumo wrestler can achieve. The term means “horizontal rope” which is derived from...
The story behind the pen (inspired by Noh Theater)
Have you ever wondered where the Urushi artisans get their inspiration? Maki-e pens are often inspired by Japanese mythology or culture. The pen we’ll talk about today was inspired by...
Artisan spotlight: Koichiro Okazaki
Each Danitrio pen is handcrafted by an experienced Japanese artisan, but have you ever wondered about the people behind the pens? Today we’ll tell you about Koichiro Okazaki, who has...
Ebonite and Urushi: Natural Materials, Natural Feel
You may have heard of ebonite – it’s a tough, dark material that resembles ebony wood. But what is it, and why make pens out of it? First, it’s helpful...
Urushi style: Tsugaru-nuri
Urushi artisans use a vast array of techniques to achieve their desired effects. Using tsugaru-nuri, for instance, the artisan can display multiple urushi colors along a smooth surface. There are...
A little Danitrio history
(Last Updated: 03-10-2024) UrushiPen is the United States authorized dealer for Danitrio pens. Where did Danitrio come from? Let’s explore. Bernard and Dani Lyn Danitrio was started by Bernard and...
What’s so special about urushi?
We’ve talked about how urushi is collected and why it is used. But what’s so special about it? Why have generations of artisans devoted themselves to learning the mysteries of...