One of the best things about reviewing pens for Stylophiles is the opportunity to see and experience wonderful pens that you might otherwise never get the chance to hold. Sometimes it gets a bit intimidating. This month being a prime example as we take a look at two very high end pens. Both maki-e, and well outside what might be considered as the "normal" price range for even the finest of fine writing instruments.

Intimidating or not, these pens are amazing!

Danitrio has been producing some wonderful pens for the past few years, with each model surpassing the last in terms of design and quality. Their Mikado series of maki-e pens is the premier flagship of their line-up. Consisting of pens notable not only for the very nicely executed maki-e artwork adorning both cap and barrel, but also for their imposing size.

The pen we're showcasing in this feature is from the Mikado series, the "I Am A Cat". This is the title of a very famous novel in Japan by a writer named Natsume Soseki.

Natsume Soseki was born Natsume Kinnosuke in what is currently Tokyo in 1867, the youngest of six children. Natsume's mother died when he was fourteen and Natsume grew up in a period of great changes within Japan's culture and society as the formerly secluded nation became open to the west and it's cultural ideas. He attended schools in Tokyo, and adopted the name of Natsume Soseki.

In 1900 Natsume received a government scholarship and went to England. He stayed there for nearly three unhappy, lonely years. He spent his time trying to combine the approach of Japanese tradition with that of the western viewpoint in writing. Natsume's first major work was the anecdotal Wagahai wa neko de aru ("I Am a Cat"), written from the viewpoint of a former alley cat.

This is a novel full of pointed humor, the sort easily recognized by anyone who has ever owned (or been owned by!) a cat. "I" (the only name given the cat) was an alley cat, until he sneaks into a house and comes to live with a family. The head of the household, Kushami, is an English teacher who is tired of teaching. He tries to find pleasure in "high cultures" such as painting, chatting with his friends, and lives a lazy life in his study. His somewhat odd collection of friends visit his house frequently: Meitei, an aesthetic who lies and makes fun of the intellectualism of Kushami's friends, and Kangetsu who was formerly Kushami's student.

This story is set after the Russo-Japanese war during a time when Japan's social system was drastically changing. Many trivial events take place around "I," who has a very superior manner of criticizing the humans around him. "I" comes to know some cats living nearby, such as Kuro, and Mikeneko, who is very much admired by "I". "I" learns a lot from these cats, who are portrayed as having far better philosophies and deeper knowledge of society than the the "stupid humans".

The story ends with "I" drinking beer and getting drunk. He slips into a huge pot filled with water. Struggling in vain in the water, "I" comes to the conclusion that he is tired of his struggle, and decides to leave his body as it takes its natural course into death.

Soseki started to write this novel as a very short story, mainly for fun, but it soon gained popularity and he was asked to write sequels to the original story. It ended up as one of his longest novels.

In the English translations, since English has only one word for "I," the connotation of "wagahai" may not be quite clearly evident. In Japanese, there are many words for "I", reflecting many views of the person indicated. The word "Wagahai" implies that the utterer is both male and well-educated, somewhat proud and arrogant because of his intellectuality. A bit pompous and self-important. Owners of cats will immediately identify with this aspect of the novel!

The maki-e work on this pen is first rate, wonderfully detailed, as we have come to expect from the Mikado series pens by Danitrio. Special permission was granted by Soseki's grandson, Mr.Funanosuke Natsume to allow the portrait of Soseki to be used on the pen itself. Along with the cats central to the story, this figure forms the centerpiece of the design, which wraps around both the cap and barrel, set against a deep background of gold dust.

The various figures are rendered three dimensionally through the use of Taka maki-e, where additional layers of urushi lacquer are used to build up the surface. The process used on this pen is called Shishiai Togidashi Taka Maki-e, and is considered to be the most difficult form of maki-e to create. It involves creating and burnishing multiple layers of a design at the same time.

It's difficult to create, and hence expensive, but it allows the artist to express three dimensions in the design. It's used to great effect with this design.

The framework around the cat figure on the cap is constructed of over a hundred tiny pieces of inlaid abalone shell.

The background consists of very fine gold dust sprinkled evenly over the surface, referred to as Nashiji-nuri. This backdrop is further set off with gold foil rectangles in various sizes. The result, when viewed as a whole is amazing, with all the elements fitting together to produce a real work of art!

Of course, it's also a writing instrument as well as artwork, and should you choose to fill it and write, you are unlikely to be disappointed. Obviously, we were not allowed to fill this one up and take it for a test drive, but we have tried out similar models, and Danitrio's simple but effective ink shut-off eyedropper filler work very well. The pens hold a ton of ink, and the nibs tend to be very good on those I've tried. The Mikado series use a larger nib than the earlier large Danitrio pens, and this helps with the overall visual balance of the pen's design.

Considered strictly as a pen, the Mikado series come out looking very good. They're well made, hold plenty of ink, and offer a large, but fairly light weight pen. In fact, the only criticism likely to apply to them would be that large size. Like the Namiki Emperor, this pen is huge, no doubt about it!

It's when considered as a work of art that the Mikado series really shine however. Considering the quality of the work on these pens, they are very reasonably priced, with an list price of $14,000 on "I Am A Cat". When you compare that to other large or oversized pens with this level of maki-e quality, it's easy to see the Mikado series as a great value. For those of us who can't afford even a great value if it's $14K, well... It's still an amazing work of art. After all, I can't quite afford a Monet, either!

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