Sailor Pen
Sailor is a Japanese writing-instrument manufacturer known for fountain pens, specialty nibs, inks, and calligraphy-oriented products.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Sailor Pen, formally Sailor Pen Co., Ltd. (セーラー万年筆株式会社), is a Japanese writing-instrument company whose origins date to 1911. Its official history says founder Kyugoro Sakata began making Japan’s first domestically produced fountain pens, fitted with 14-karat gold nibs, in Inari-chō, Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture. The company’s identity remains closely tied to fountain pens, Japanese manufacturing, and the craft of nib making. The company’s writing-products range includes fountain pens, ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils, multi-function writing instruments, marking pens, brush pens, dip pens and ink, as well as other stationery. Its site presents the 21-karat nib and specialty nibs as important expressions of its pen-making expertise. Named ranges include TUZU, a fountain pen and matching-design ballpoint pen, and SHIKIORI, a line inspired by Japan’s seasons that includes writing instruments and fountain-pen ink. The company also offers robot equipment, reflecting a business beyond stationery. Sailor describes its corporate purpose through the ideas of supporting handwritten culture, combining technical skill with functional beauty, and making tools that give users pleasure in expression. Its corporate history records overseas-related activities including a Taiwan subsidiary, a Thailand subsidiary, a European office, and robot-equipment operations in China and the United States. The supplied material does not establish the company’s present ownership, current listing status, or the precise extent of its current international distribution. Sailor is a Japanese writing-instrument manufacturer headquartered in Kure, Hiroshima. The company traces its origins to 1911, when Kyugoro Sakata and his brother established the Sakata Manufactory to make gold pen nibs. According to the company’s historical account, Kyugoro Sakata encountered a fountain pen through a visiting British sailor; that experience inspired both the company’s move into fountain-pen production and the Sailor name adopted several years later. The business developed during a formative period for Japanese stationery. Its factory moved to Hamadacho in 1917, where fountain-pen manufacturing began under the name Sailor Pen Sakata-Manufactory Co., Ltd. Sailor subsequently became associated with several early developments in Japan’s writing-instrument industry. It produced its first ballpoint pens in 1948 and introduced ink cartridges in 1954, making them available to the public in 1958. The company is also described as the first Japanese manufacturer to produce a fountain pen with a gold nib and the first in Japan to manufacture ballpoint pens. Sailor’s product development has included both technical and ergonomic innovations. In the 1960s, it introduced a fountain pen fitted with a 21-karat gold nib, described as a world first. In 1963, it released a compact pen with a clip designed for carrying in a breast or shirt pocket. The company also introduced an early brush pen, adapting the principles of Japanese calligraphy brushes into a modern writing implement. These developments helped Sailor address different writing habits, professional uses, and cultural traditions rather than focusing exclusively on conventional fountain pens. The company faced a difficult pen market in the 1970s and responded with products aimed at younger consumers. Its colourful Candy series, launched in 1976, became a notable commercial success, with approximately 15 million units sold worldwide over four years according to the referenced historical material. The Chalana line also achieved substantial sales. In 1981, Sailor introduced the 1911 fountain-pen series, known as Profit in Japan; its name refers to the company’s founding year and connects a modern product family with the brand’s historical identity. Sailor’s current portfolio spans fountain pens, ballpoint pens, dip pens, inks, and mechanical pencils. Its best-known fountain-pen families include the rounded 1911 series, the Pro Gear series, and the Compass range, including Compass 1911 and Compass TUZU variants. Its ink portfolio includes the regular line formerly known as Jentle Ink, as well as Shikiori, Manyo, and Ink Studio ranges. Dipton inks are formulated for dip pens and are offered in colours and finishes that can include sheen and shimmer. Ballpoint offerings include products associated with the 1911, Arita Yaki, Cylint, Shikiori, and TUZU lines. Sailor’s identity combines Japanese manufacturing heritage, nib craftsmanship, colour and ink experimentation, and links to traditional calligraphy. Although its products are sold beyond Japan, the brand remains particularly associated with specialist fountain-pen users, collectors, writers, illustrators, and stationery enthusiasts. The company’s head office was moved from Kure to Tokyo in 1952 and returned to Kure in April 2021, reconnecting its corporate base with its Hiroshima origins.
History
Sailor Pen traces its origins to February 1911, when founder Kyugoro Sakata began manufacturing fountain pens in Inari-chō, Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture. The company’s official history describes these as Japan’s first domestically produced fountain pens and notes that they used 14-karat gold nibs. The company’s founding in Kure is an important part of its own account of its identity: it connects its beginnings to a port city, Japanese technical capability, and the ambition to make locally produced writing instruments. The business was incorporated in August 1932 as Sailor Pen Sakata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. It established a factory in Tenno, Hiroshima Prefecture, in 1939 and a Tokyo office in 1941. Following wartime losses in 1945, the company began rebuilding in Tenno, Kure. Its history records listings on the Hiroshima Stock Exchange in June 1949 and the Tokyo Stock Exchange Second Section in October 1961. The corporate name became Sailor Pen Co., Ltd. in May 1960. In the postwar decades, Sailor expanded beyond its early fountain-pen focus with products such as a mini fountain pen in 1963 and a brush pen in 1973. The company also began manufacturing and selling robot machines—automatic take-out equipment for injection-moulded products—in 1969, an activity that developed into a separate robot-equipment business. Its history records the launch of the Candy fountain pen in 1976 and the relocation of its head office to Tokyo’s Ueno district in 1978. Later corporate and operational changes included establishing a robot-equipment division in Ome, Tokyo, in 1982 and moving the head office to Koto, Tokyo, in 1997. The company’s product and business activities broadened through the 1990s and 2000s. It launched DAKS-branded products in 1990 and established overseas-related operations, including a Thailand subsidiary in 1996 and a European stationery office in 2000. Its chronology also records a Chinese robot-machine production subsidiary in 2002 and a United States robot-machine sales affiliate in 2003. These entries document historical international activity but do not, by themselves, establish the present status of those operations. Sailor’s later history includes products and projects that combine writing instruments with specialist manufacturing or craft. It introduced a porcelain Arita-yaki fountain pen in 2007 in collaboration with a kiln; the following year, a pen made by Koransha was presented by Japan’s prime minister to leaders attending the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit. In 2009, the company says the Arita-yaki fountain pen received an award in the Monozukuri Nippon Grand Award program. The company marked its centenary in 2011 with commemorative fountain pens and related products. In 2021, as it approached its 110th anniversary, Sailor announced a refreshed logo and logotype. Its corporate identity statement presents the anchor as a continuing symbol of trust and hope and describes a commitment to handwritten culture, fine technical work, Japanese aesthetic sensibility, and functional beauty. The current official homepage presents a product portfolio spanning pens, pencils, markers, dip pens and ink, and other stationery, alongside robot equipment. Its named writing-product lines include TUZU and SHIKIORI; it also highlights 21-karat and specialty nibs. The supplied sources do not establish current ownership, present listing status, or the current extent of overseas operations. Sailor began in Hiroshima in 1911 as the Sakata Manufactory, founded by Kyugoro Sakata and his brother to produce gold pen nibs. The company’s name was later inspired by Sakata’s exposure to a fountain pen used or brought by a visiting British sailor. This origin story became central to the brand’s identity and helps explain why Sailor developed around fountain pens rather than remaining solely a nib supplier. In 1917, the factory moved to Hamadacho and adopted the name Sailor Pen Sakata-Manufactory Co., Ltd. Fountain-pen production began at the relocated facility. The company expanded its technical capabilities over the following decades and became an important participant in Japan’s emerging writing-instrument industry. Sailor manufactured its first ballpoint pens in 1948. It developed ink cartridges in 1954 and made them publicly available in 1958, broadening the convenience and portability of fountain-pen use. Sailor’s innovation continued in the 1960s. The company introduced a fountain pen using a 21-karat gold nib, a design described in the reference material as the first of its kind worldwide. In 1963, it launched a small pen with a clip intended for breast-pocket or shirt-pocket carrying. It also introduced a brush pen, translating characteristics of Japanese calligraphy brushes into a manufactured writing tool. These products illustrate Sailor’s combination of industrial pen production with design responses rooted in Japanese writing culture. The writing-instrument market entered a crisis in the 1970s. Sailor responded with the Candy series, a group of brightly coloured pens aimed at children and younger users. Introduced in 1976, Candy reportedly sold about 15 million units worldwide within four years. The Chalana line also generated large sales. Rather than relying only on traditional prestige fountain pens, these products allowed Sailor to compete through colour, portability, and broad consumer appeal. In 1981, Sailor introduced the 1911 fountain-pen series. The name commemorates the year of the company’s founding, while the series is known as Profit in Japan. The line became one of the brand’s principal historical references and remains part of its fountain-pen identity. Later product families included the Pro Gear series and the Compass range, while Sailor continued to develop ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils, inks, dip pens, and related writing accessories. Sailor’s corporate base also changed over time. Its head office moved from Kure in Hiroshima to Tokyo in 1952. In April 2021, the head office returned to Kure, restoring the company’s administrative connection with its place of origin. In the contemporary market, Sailor is recognized especially for fountain pens, gold and specialist nibs, Japanese-style writing instruments, and bottled inks. Its ink portfolio includes the regular line formerly called Jentle Ink, Shikiori, Manyo, Ink Studio, and Dipton products for dip pens. The brand serves both ordinary writing needs and specialist communities of collectors, calligraphers, illustrators, and stationery enthusiasts.
- 2021
Head office returned to Kure
[5]In April 2021, Sailor returned its head office from Tokyo to Kure, Hiroshima.
- 1981
1911 fountain-pen series introduced
[5]Sailor launched the 1911 series, known as Profit in Japan and named for the company’s founding year.
- 1976
Candy series launched
[5]The colourful Candy series was introduced for children and younger consumers and reportedly sold about 15 million units worldwide in four years.
- 1963
Compact pocket pen launched
[5]Sailor introduced a small pen with a clip for carrying in a breast or shirt pocket and also launched an early brush pen.
- 1960
21-karat gold-nib fountain pen introduced
[5]During the 1960s, Sailor launched a fountain pen with a 21-karat gold nib, described as a world first.
- 1954
Ink cartridge developed
[5]The company developed ink cartridges; they became publicly available in 1958.
- 1948
First Sailor ballpoint pens
[5]Sailor produced its first ballpoint pens.
- 1917
Factory moved and fountain-pen production began
[5]The factory moved to Hamadacho and operated under the Sailor Pen Sakata-Manufactory name, with fountain-pen production beginning at the new site.
- 1911
Sakata Manufactory established
[5]Kyugoro Sakata and his brother founded the Sakata Manufactory in Hiroshima to produce gold pen nibs.
Fountain-pen manufacturing begins in Kure
[2]
Products and positioning
A Japanese writing-instrument maker emphasizing fountain-pen and nib-making expertise, handwritten culture, technical craft, and functional beauty. A Japanese specialist writing-instrument brand emphasizing fountain-pen craftsmanship, gold and specialty nibs, distinctive inks, compact ergonomic designs, and connections to Japanese calligraphy and stationery culture.
TUZU
A writing-instrument line comprising a fountain pen and a ballpoint pen with a matching design. The company describes the fountain pen as designed for different writing angles and styles.
SHIKIORI (Four Seasons)
A series inspired by Japan’s changing seasons, including fountain pens, fountain-pen ink, water-based markers, ballpoint pens, and mechanical pencils.
Specialty nibs
A range of specialist nibs that includes the Nagahara nib and other distinctive nib designs.
21-karat nib
A nib type that the company highlights as a defining area of its fountain-pen expertise.
Fountain pens · 1981
1911 / Profit
The 1911 is a rounded, cigar-shaped fountain-pen family named after Sailor’s founding year. In Japan it is known as Profit. The range represents one of the brand’s principal traditional fountain-pen designs and links contemporary Sailor products to the company’s early history.
Fountain pens
Pro Gear
Pro Gear is a major Sailor fountain-pen family. It is part of the company’s specialist writing portfolio and is associated with Sailor’s emphasis on nib selection, body design, and enthusiast-oriented fountain-pen craftsmanship.
Fountain pens
Compass
Compass is a Sailor fountain-pen range that includes Compass 1911 and Compass TUZU versions. It extends the brand’s fountain-pen offering with accessible models while retaining the visual and naming connections found across Sailor’s broader pen portfolio.
Ballpoint pens · 1948
Ballpoint pens
Sailor’s ballpoint portfolio includes products associated with the 1911, Arita Yaki, Cylint, Shikiori, and TUZU families. Ballpoints broaden the brand beyond fountain-pen users and reflect its long history in this category, which began with the company’s first ballpoint products in 1948.
Fountain-pen inks
Shikiori inks
Shikiori is one of Sailor’s bottled-ink lines and is also used across related writing-instrument products. It forms part of the brand’s colour-focused stationery offering alongside Manyo and Ink Studio inks.
Fountain-pen inks
Manyo
Manyo is a Sailor bottled fountain-pen ink range. It belongs to the company’s contemporary colour-oriented ink portfolio and is aimed at users who treat ink choice as an important part of writing and stationery design.
Fountain-pen inks
Ink Studio
Ink Studio is a Sailor bottled-ink line within the company’s modern fountain-pen colour portfolio. It complements the regular ink range and other named collections by offering additional colour choices for writing, drawing, and stationery use.
Dip-pen inks
Dipton
Dipton inks are bottled inks made specifically for dip pens. The range includes multiple colours and may feature sheen and shimmer finishes, giving it a more decorative and expressive role than standard everyday writing ink.
Brand decisions
- Refresh of corporate identityOther
Sources6 sources
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