The amber color of the Tamesukashi base mimics the color of dusk, and acts as a powerful point of contrast for the brighter shades of pink and green of the Shell Ginger design. It is decorated with three-dimensional shell ginger leaves and pale pink flowers on a transparent (demonstrator) body that has been previously coated with Tamesukashi Urushi.

The combination of a Tamesukashi coating and the three-dimensional design heightens the intricacies of an already beautiful pen.

The Significance

The shell ginger (getto) is a plant that is deeply rooted in Okinawan culture and customs. It is perhaps most notable for its purpose on the Okinawan tradition known as "Muchi Day," which occurs on the 8th of December. Okinawan families gather together and pray for the good health and fortune for the coming new year before eating rice cakes wrapped in shell ginger leaves.

The Muchi (which is a variant of the rice dessert Mochi) is eaten to pray for the health of the family, and the scent of shell ginger is said to ward off evil spirits. Thus, the refreshing scent of shell ginger may still be lingering in the year by New Year's Eve. 

The cultivation of the bonsai tree has parallels with the crafting and collection of fountain pens, as both are labors of love and passion. As each pen can represent their respective collector's state of mind, so too can the bonsai tree represent their owner's inner thoughts, begging the question of what the Dream Pen Tsuikin Bonsai Fountain Pen can say about who you are, and who you strive to be.

The deep black of the fountain pen is the perfect canvas for the delicate branches of the Bonsai Tree, wrapping around it like a comforting embrace. Bright green leaves adorn the branches. Pale pink flowers bloom on one branch and not the other, as if it is a lesson in restraint.

This minimalist portrait of a bonsai tree on the fountain pen is crafted entirely from clay and Urushi (Japanese lacquer), elevating a treasured art form - raising bonsai trees - to another level entirely.Like the historic bonsai trees that inspired the Master Artisans of Okinawa, each pen will be unique, and cannot be replicated exactly.

Bonsai trees are miniature trees planted in earthenware pots and trays, but its history and its meaning are even greater than the sum of its parts. Over two thousand years ago, monks in China believed that a miniature form of something in nature - such as a mountain, a river, or a tree - would imbue the owner with magical energy. Seven centuries after this, the first bonsai tree was brought to Japan, and the practice of raising a bonsai tree took root, and became an expression of the Zen philosophy that flowed through Japan during the Kamakura Period.

In Japan, caring for a bonsai tree became a symbol of one's inner peace, their artistic ability, and their respect for life itself. As mankind continues to chop trees for the sake of industrialization, Zen Buddhist monks in Japan grew these miniature trees in pots to show that a tree deserves the same care and love that we reserve for our fellow human.

The Bonsai Tamesukashi adds an extra layer of Urushi, thereby heightening the complexity. Instead of coating the entire pen with transparent Urushi, the Master Artisans have used the highly-coveted Tamesukashi Technique, which was a Pre-Edo Period way of finishing katanas and their scabbards.

The Tamesukashi technique uses an amber-colored, semi-translucent Urushi, and coats the pen so that it makes it appear that the bonsai tree has been encased forever within amber. It transforms this spring or summery design into an autumn-themed tree, complete with dark orange petals, faded green leaves, and even darker branches.