Celebrating Pilot's centennial
100 years of exquisite pens and inks
Iroshizuku ink
Combining the Japanese words ‘iro’ (colouring) and ‘shizuku’ (droplet), Pilot's own Iroshizuku inks are held in high regard around the world for their deep and exquisite colours.
Tokyo, 1918: the birth of Pilot
The growing Western influence on Japan in the early 20th century led to new demands for smooth, precise writing as contracts, manifests and the like became increasingly commonplace. In 1915, Ryosuke Namiki and Masao Wada, mechanical engineers by trade, set up a small factory outside Tokyo to create gold pen nibs, and just a few years later, Pilot Pen was born.