I love maki-e and that all there is to it. I especially love Maki-e that tells a story. Don't get me wrong, flowers and birds are nice, but I want something unusual, a bit shock and awe So, this one is not for everyone, and not even for people who are familiar with Maki-e. The title of the pen is "Shuten-doji" or "Drunken Demon"

Greek have mythology, while Japanese have "Oni" or Demon. And the pen is based on the one of the legend.

The pen is made on the large Genkai ED filler. Art work is all hand done of course.

Now, on to the story. First the historical fact (sounds like opening of Da Vinci Code book ): Minamoto no Raiko (948-1021) was known for his skill with the sword and bravery. When a band of ruthless bandits started raiding the capital and kidnapping women. The Emperor dispatched Raiko to subdue the bandits. With the help of his men, he was victorious.

Now, the legend. Since the story was later written in 14 Century, the story tellers decided to add a bit here and add a bit there, and filled in a lot of blanks since no one know EXACTLY how they subdue the bandits. Now the Chief Bandit became a demon, and our hero were aided by just 4 of his trusted comrades.

So, the story goes that capital was terrorized by an Oni (demon) and his diabolic cohorts. They abducted young maidens and ate them. Raiko was dispatched to kill the demon believed to be in a fort. Raiko and his men dressed up as traveling monks seeking refuge at the fort. On the way there, the group met an old man who was a god in desquise and gave them a bottle of wine (magical sake, I suppose) and a magical helmet, and tell them not to drink anything given by the demon.

The 5 of them arrived at the fort and was received by the demon in human form, and a feast was provided. They remembered what the old man had told them, so only pretend to drink the wine provided by the bandits. Raiko, in return, offered the demon the magical sake. The demon quickly fall to sleep and revealed his demonic appearance. Here the 5 of them changed into their armor with Raiko wearing the magical helmet. They pinned down the demon and chopped off his head. However, despite his head been chopped off, the head flew over and bite down on Raiko's helmet. Normally this would crush any armor, but since Raiko was protected with the magical helmet, he was not hurt and the 5 of them managed to finish off the demon and rest of his cohorts.

Here is the pen:


close up of the demon. The white part of the eys are done with tiny pieces of quail egg shells. The blue part are tiny pieces of blue turban snail shells.


Here is Minamoto no Raiko, notice the fine details of his armor


His sword is gain made of very tiny pieces of blue turban snail shells


My photo collage skill is not very good, but you get the idea




Hope you enjoy the pen and story.

Kev

Wow, I like it!!! This is the kind of Maki-e that I like!!! Birds, fish and trees are nice but I appreciate the fact that Danitrio makes some Maki-e for macho men!!! Huge warrior batons like the the Genkai with this stuff on there that scares women and makes children cry!!! That is my kind of pen, Kev!!!!

TNS

wow
what beautiful artwork that is.
How long does it take to do something like that?

This particular artist like to work on 3 pens at a time. What he did is work on one, then the next two. By the time he is done with the 3rd one, the first one is dried and can do some more work on it. The pen though take 3 months.

Kev

I know what you mean... they won't do the seven samurai though.

Oh so thats the story behind that one, very nice design indeed. but i still liek the flowers and the treees hahah. but not to say i dont like this one also!

Here is the original art work, now in Victoria and Albert Museum



Kev

Way cool.

I vote to bar Winedoc from posting any other Maki-e pens.
Way too tempting! ; )

Funny... I think this is the first time I see a square Maki-e pen, and... I like it a lot ! The shape does something to it that makes it even more graceful.

Wow. That is one awesome FP.

Yeah, that is the new Genkai model. If you think the Mikado is big, you aint seen nuttin yet!!! The Genkai does come in the raw ebonite but I think you have to order them. Get in contact with Kev. Me want genkai!!!!

so so beautiful!!!

Very nice pen, Kevin.

I also enjoyed the story. I agree with TNS, this is a pen for a manly man. While your pictures are outstanding, I bet the pens are even better in person.

I've already started pestering my boss about next year's conference in San Francisco...if you're free anytime I'm there I'd love to see one of these in person!

french

Just let me know when you are in town. Last time Skip was in town, we had dinner with Lex and Andy A. You can imagine at the local restaurant we have tons of pens showing... Lex was showing off his "pneu" pens, Andy with his vintage Parkers, Skip with his Nakaya and others, and me with Danitrio. I am sure other diners were going "what the...", but we didn't care. It was fun.

Kev

Dang, that sure is nice - and tough!