Below are scans from two pages of a Japanese womens magazine of 1939. It was written after the government passed numerous restrictions on industries and highlights what they are doing to contribute to the war effort.

My first impression was regarding the working conditions of those pictured and the term sweatshop came to mind. Thoughts of how many of the young men shown perished in China and the Pacific haunt me, as did the women who died in air raids of Tokyo.

Getting back to pens, picture #5 highlights the steel nibs being used. Use of steel was an important contribution to the war effort. Picture 7 appears to show that makie and other hand decorated pens were done on an assembly line. One usually is presented the impression of some grey-haired artist painststakingly working away in their studio to create great masterpieces. Seems some were not done this way. Must be the pressures of the war years.

Wow, thanks for a very interesting scan! The text indicates that pen manufacturers might have used 9K nibs in the past, is that true or just a "figurative" writing? It says the steel nibs last as long as gold nibs, as the content of their steel nib was 65% steel, and the other 35% was an alloy of nickel, chrome and other metal. The photos were taken in Pilot's Tokyo Fatory in Otuska. I guess 1939 is still before Japan went to the war with the U.S. and the last sentence says that "You would understand that they can't stop using gold powder for maki-e for exporting Europe and U.S.

A general observation concerning the article. My initial thoughts when first looking at the piece were the manufacture of pens were unimportant to the war effort as it used up essential raw materials and manpower. Then after careful thought realised pens and other writing impliments were essential to communicate or relay messages, thus a vital industry for the war cause. Although looking at the last photograph I was very surprised to see the continual practice of Maki-e painting, but then I expect these pens were probably still in demand by the upper echilon of the Japanese government and other important officialdom. Lastly the picture of the nibs, was the message "Best in the world" Pilot's original sale gimmick, or was it military properganda ?

By the way the article is a great find. Thank you.

The Pacific War did not start till late 1941, and sounds like they were exporting maki-e pens when this article was written. Probably it was an important way to earn foreign currency.

The Second Sino-Japanese War between Japan and China began in 1937 with incidents as early as 1931. The Japanese Army also had a strategic prescence in Manchukuo as it was a de facto province of Japan at the time. Below is a map showing where Japanese forces were in China in1940.

The Japanese government issued a number of laws in 1939 designed to conserve resources and move the country more on a war footing. Using steel for gold nibs was only a small part of the effort. It did, however, involve gold, which was important for funding the war effort.