Sekai Urushi-e: Scrolls of Frolicking Animals

A Hybrid Worldview

There are many masterpieces in the history of Japanese art, and learning about the stories behind each work will deepen your interest. In an effort to share these layered stories with the rest of the world, Wancher is unveiling the Urushi-e collection, which is a highly specialized technique that combines traditional ink painting and detailed Urushi craftwork.

Urushi-e (Lacquer Painting)

Urushi-e is a hand-painting technique that involves using a translucent base Urushi mixed with color pigments and an adhesive component. This mixture gives Urushi the consistency and thickness needed for artisans to create a variety of painting styles. Mastering the art of creating the Urushi mixture and painting intricate details in each stroke requires years of focused training. 

Design Inspiration - Chojugiga

For this edition of the Urushi-e Collection, we decided to honor the manga culture by depicting an interpretation of the painting Chōjū Giga, which is known as the oldest manga. This artwork shows a rabbit and a frog sumo wrestling, and it is considered a national treasure that can be found at the historic Kozanji Temple in Kyoto.

While this served as our direct inspiration, painting these images upon the fountain pen and applying Urushi is a complicated, painstaking process, and it is worth every second of effort due to the beauty and legacy it represents.

Japan is world renowned for numerous reasons, yet for many people, there is none more important culturally than Japanese manga (graphic novels). Not only is the popularity of manga continuing to rise around the world, but it has even resulted in significant increases in tourism, and it has influenced many different facets of the country

History of Japanese painting

The specific ink painting style that inspired this collection originated in China before being introduced to Japan in the late 12th Century by traveling Zen monks. While Japan had its ink-based art prior to this, it was considered juvenile in comparison to the much more detailed and complex artwork hailing from China. This sparked an evolution in Japanese art, forming the foundation of what would be a golden period in Japan's art history.

18K Nib

All Urushi-e fountain pens come with an 18K gold nib to enhance your writing experience and the astonishing appearance of the traditional Urushi-e art on this pen.

Natural Raw Urushi

Our Urushi-e fountain pens are created by using natural Urushi which by characteristic has slightly less shine. Every early summer, raw Urushi is gathered from the deciduous tree known as "Urushinoki". This valuable plant yields only about 100-300 grams of raw Urushi liquid per year from each tree.

Shape & Measurement

Specifications

Material: Wood

Art: Urushi-e

Filling mechanism: Converter or Cartridge (European International Standard)

Nib: #6 Wancher 18K gold & Rhodium-plated

Feed: Plastic only

Packaging

Traditional Japanese Wooden Box + Pen Kimono + Instructional Materials + Converter + Cartridge