Sailor KOP Shakkyo Limited Edition 38

“Shakkyo” is a “kirinoh”, or the last performance in a full five-play Noh program. “Shakkyo”, which translates to “stone bridge,” is a story about a Buddhist monk attempting to cross one during his pilgrimage to Mount Shōryōzen in China. He meets a young woodcutter, who tells him that the bridge is not something humans can easily cross, as on the other side is the Pure Land of Manjusri Bodhisattva. “Shakkyo” is a story of patience and self-reflection, which are virtues rewarded at the end of the play with a beautiful flower-filled dance by Manjusri Bodhisattva’s lion messenger. 

Inspired by this fifth-category play, the Sailor King of Pen Japanese Classical Performing Arts - Shakkyo Limited Edition fountain pen features the gorgeous artwork of Isshu Tamura, who utilized intricate Maki-e and lacquering techniques on its ebonite body. The pen highlights the play’s lion dance on the stone bridge, surrounded by a shower of peonies. It carries a large, 21-karat, bi-color nib. 

The pen, however, isn’t the only work of art in this release, as it comes with a gift box that uses Hakone marquetry, a technique popular in the Edo period that involves the creation of different patterns using different-colored wood pieces that are sliced and glued together, with no paints or stains used. 

We have for sale one of only 38 units of the Sailor King of Pen Japanese Classical Performing Arts - Shakkyo Limited Edition ever released. This ultra-rare pen comes complete with its unique box, papers, and other inclusions.