The spring-themed Nakaya Portable Writer Frog With Cherry is an exquisitely detailed work of Maki-e art. Each hand-crafted Maki-e pen requires up to a year to be produced by skilled artisans in Wajima on the west coast of Japan.

Our complimentary nib tuning adjusts pressure and ink flow to your personal preferences, and our exclusive nib customizations can add to the character and distinctiveness of your writing on the page. We are an authorized Nakaya dealer.

Both frogs and cherry blossoms are traditionally symbolic of spring in Japanese art, and the Nakaya Portable Writer Frog With Cherry provides a lyrically rendered motif utilizing a variety of advanced Maki-e techniques, including the use of raden shell and raised Yakou Maki-e.

The rose-hued flowers are made with pink urushi and gold powders, while the white flowers are made using raden (sea shells). An expert maki-e artist creates the frog and some of the leaves with black Urushi using the Yakou-nuri technique. The frog and some leaves are black urushi created using the Yakoh-nuri technique.
Consistent with the frog motif, the Nakaya tadpole converter is available as an additional option with this pen.

Nakaya pens can be filled with bottled fountain pen ink using the provided converter and can also use Platinum brand top quality ink cartridges. Hand-painted Maki-e converters are also available.

The outline of the frog is painted in black urushi on the barrel shown above, while the inside is painted using dark green heki-tamenuri. As time passes and the urushi lacquer matures, this frog will take on a green hue. In fact the entire background is painted with heki-tamenuri , giving it an earthy color reminiscent of springtime.

A gold-plated clip allows you to securely attach the pen to a shirt pocket, and also serves as a built-in roll-stopper. Rhodium plating allows the maki-e design to take center stage without overpowering it.
The pen can be furnished with any of the complete range of Nakaya 14k nibs. These smooth-writing 14k nibs are also well-suited to customizations including Architect's point, Stub, Cursive Italic, or Left Oblique.

Decorative rice paper, a simple solid softwood shipping box decorated with Japanese Kanji script, and a fabric pen ""kimono"" are all included with this pen, making it 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. See our nib set-up and optimization page for more details.