Orange is a classic color for fountain pens, and the Naka-ai Cigar Araishu pen uses this rich Urushi finish with subtlety and aplomb. Is it the tapered contours of the Naka-ai which show off the color, or the distinctive Araishu finish which highlights the shape of the pen? Each pen lover can make her or his own decision.

The Nakaya Naka-ai Cigar Araishu fountain pen is handcrafted from ebonite and Urushi lacquer, and comes with solid gold 14k single-tone nib in your choice of tipping size.

The double slit Music nib is available at an added premium, as are plated nibs in Pink Gold, Rhodium, Ruthenium, or Two-Tone.

Designed by Nakaya master pen designer Shinichi Yoshida in collaboration with Classic Fountain Pen's John Mottishaw, the Naka-ai, with its peaked ends and tapered body, combines many of Nakaya’s most distinctive design features in a single model. ""Naka-ai"" has the meaning of middle or in-between, and brings to mind the Middle Way of Buddhist practice with its emphasis on balance, integrity, and centeredness. Appropriately enough, the Naka-ai occupies a midway position between Nakaya's smaller Piccolo series pens and the longer Deskpen - this is a pen that will be a very comfortable fit for most pen users.

This is a pen that will be a very comfortable fit for most pen users. Like all Nakaya Urushi pens, the Naka-ai Cigar Araishu is made of hand-turned ebonite hard rubber, then sent to the Wajima region in western Japan for finishing with Urushi lacquer. As Urushi is a natural substance, slight variations from batch to batch are to be expected - no two pens will ever be exactly alike.

The Nakaya Naka-ai can be filled with bottled fountain pen ink using the provided converter. Nakaya pens can also use Platinum brand ink cartridges. Hand-painted Maki-e converters are also available - the Maki-e Goldfish converter, in particular, would be a highly appropriate accessory for this pen.
Nakaya 14k nibs are well-suited to customizations including Stub, Cursive Italic, and Left Oblique, as well as the modification for added flex.
Nakaya pens ship in a solid softwood shipping box decorated with Japanese Kanji script and lined with decorative rice paper. A fabric pen ""kimono"" and starter box of Platinum brand cartridges are also included, making this pen a lovely presentation item. Sensible and elegant packaging has long been a hallmark of the Nakaya brand.
Nakaya pens are individually handcrafted in a process that requires a minimum of three to six months and often much longer. Unless requested otherwise, each pen or nib you purchase from us will be carefully examined, tested, and optimized for your personal writing characteristics before it ships.