Between light and matter lies a subtle line, a point where what has been precisely defined begins to slip away, to shift, to become something else. It is in this uncertain zone that HANE Murakumo takes shape, where the gesture meets the unpredictable.

Murakumo, in Japanese, means “gathering clouds.” Not a fixed image, but an unfolding event. A slow thickening, a movement that cannot be held back. Like the sky when it changes without revealing its design. Like warm breath that alters what it touches.

HANE Murakumo is a frozen moment in time. It is a brushstroke and a gesture. And it is in the final gesture that Murakumo finds its voice.

The freshly applied white lacquer is held over a dancing flame and decorated by the candle smoke as if it was ink. No two pieces are exactly alike; no movement is ever truly repeated in the same way. And the lacquer is left in its rawest state, drying to form a solid, durable surface, without being further treated with sandpaper or polishing powders.

The result is therefore left to time. No polishing intervenes to even out, erase, or to look for perfection. The surface remains alive, satin-finished, soft to the eye and touch, as if it still holds the memory of the brush that passed over it. Light does not bounce, it settles, glides, gathers.

It is a quiet beauty, one that does not impose itself but invites discovery, becoming a truly unique piece.

There is no possibility of subsequent intervention: what happens remains. For this reason, each phase takes place in perfectly pure and authentic environments, where even the smallest particle can leave a permanent mark.

Yet, precisely in this impossibility of correction, another concept of precision is revealed.

The slightest variations, the imperceptible ripples, the almost invisible signs that may emerge do not disrupt the object’s harmony: they bring it to life. They are traces of the process, memories of time, of heat, of air. Not flaws, but testimonies.

Murakumo does not seek uniformity. It preserves the moment.

In this sense, it resonates with a sensibility deeply rooted in Japanese culture: one that recognizes value in what changes, in what eludes a definitive shape, in what bears the mark of its own becoming.

Writing with HANE Murakumo means entering this dimension. Slowing down until you can feel the surface beneath your fingers, observing how the light changes as the pen moves, allowing the act of writing to rediscover a more mindful rhythm.

Every word traced on the paper seems to continue what the pen’s surface has already begun: a slow, unrepeatable, living movement.

It is not just a writing instrument. It is an invitation to pause.

Each piece is born from the collaboration between SCRIBO and Japanese Urushi masters, custodians of knowledge passed down through generations. Their hands do not impose a form on the material, but slowly accompany its transformations, respecting its pace and imperfections. The “Nuritate” technique used to create the HANE Murakumo, in fact, truly tests the ancient craftsmanship of the Urushi masters, as it requires them to make subtle adjustments to the mixture on a case-by-case basis, depending on the season, temperature and humidity.

To this dialogue a further touch is added: the pouch that accompanies each fountain pen, handmade from Japanese kimono silks. Fabrics that have already lived, that carry with them stories, folds, and reflections. Here too, nothing is replicable.

PIUMA Hane Murakumo is available in a limited edition of 110 pieces.

Not a series, but a constellation of differences.

A meeting between Italy and Japan that goes beyond a mere fusion of techniques, bringing together two ways of understanding beauty: as something that is not confined to shape, but continues to transform in the eye of the observer, through the passage of time, and in the gesture that engages with it.

Like clouds, Murakumo cannot be captured.

And it is perhaps precisely in this ever-changing nature that its deepest truth lies.

“The beauty of a Japanese room depends on a variation of shadows, heavy shadows against light shadows—it has nothing else.”

Jun’ichirō Tanizaki

L'articolo PIUMA Hane Murakumo proviene da SCRIBO - Scrittura Bolognese.

There is a form of beauty that does not need darkness to shine but instead draws nourishment from the purest light to reveal its soul. It is the light that passes through clear water, that settles on the morning dew, or filters through the clouds after a storm, restoring to the world a seemed lost color. In that precise instant, the gaze does not merely see: it perceives a depth that invites silence.

It is within this dimension of pure perception that PIUMA Hane Toruko was born.

After exploring the earthy depths of brown red with Hane and the mystery of nocturnal green with Kuro, our journey has led us to an epiphany of rare clarity. Hane Toruko is a promise contained within its Japanese etymology, a reference to what shines, to a luminosity that emerges with the grace of something that does not need to shout to exist. It is the turquoise that reveals itself the moment the gaze stops searching and finally begins to see.

The color of Hane Toruko is a liquid experience, a turquoise that escapes static definitions. It is the hue of the sky reflected in a mountain stream, where the current stirs the light, making it shifting, iridescent, alive. At times it appears clear and airy, imparting a sense of absolute lightness; at others it deepens into more profound, almost abyssal tones, revealing a soul that pulses beneath the lacquer. It is an invitation to contemplation, a fragment of infinity captured in a silhouette of rare Italian elegance.

This depth is not the result of chance, but of the ancient ritual of the Tamenuri technique. The sap of the Urushi tree, gathered with patience and devotion, is layered onto the surface of the fountain pen in a process that defies the frenzy of modern time. Layer after layer, the natural lacquer is applied, polymerized, and hand-polished, creating a translucent structure that acts like a lens. It is here that alchemy occurs: light passes through the layers, reaches the turquoise core, and returns to the eye transformed, charged with depth. Over time, the lacquer evolves, becoming increasingly transparent and allowing the underlying color to emerge with new clarity, turning each piece into a visual diary of time itself.

In this dialogue between matter and spirit, the human gesture remains the essential bridge. Each Hane Toruko fountain pen is the result of an encounter between skilled hands working in silence. The Urushi Master governs the application of every single layer with a precision that borders on meditation: an act of respect toward a millenary tradition in which time is not a limitation, but the essential ingredient of beauty.

Upon the perfect surface, the artist’s hand then intervenes to imprint the seal of authenticity: a subtle mark in Katakana characters that seals the collaboration between the Urushi master Arakawa and SCRIBO’s vision. A silent bond that continues until the final inspection, where every reflection and every detail is examined with rigor before the fountain pen begins its return to Bologna. Here it receives its beating heart: the nib, ready to transform thought into a fluid, flexible, and conscious mark.

Writing with Hane Toruko means reclaiming one’s own rhythm. The contact between the hand and the smooth, almost velvety and living surface of the Urushi lacquer establishes an immediate, organic connection. This fountain pen is an invitation to delve deeply into thought, allowing the gesture to become presence.

To preserve this harmony, each piece is accompanied by a handcrafted pouch made from authentic Japanese kimono fabrics. A gesture that extends the dialogue between the two cultures, so that the work continues to tell its story even when it is not in use.

Hane Toruko is for those who recognize the value of time. It is a light that does not dazzle, but endures. It is proof that the most authentic beauty does not reveal itself at first glance, but waits for those who have the courage to pause.

Here, turquoise becomes a new grammar of silence.

“Spring sea —
slowly rising, falling,
the waves.”

(Haiku by Matsuo Bashō)

L'articolo PIUMA Hane Toruko proviene da SCRIBO - Scrittura Bolognese.

There is a moment, in the quietest months of the year, when nature seems to hold its breath.

It is in this suspended interval that, according to Japanese tradition, the shōchiku-bai, known as Pine, Bamboo and Plum take place representing the Three Winter Friends.

Plants that withstand the cold without yielding, symbols for centuries of moral strength, perseverance and a wish of good fortune for the year to come.

With LA DOTTA Bamboo SCRIBO opens a trilogy that will accompany three years of artisanal work: a journey in which material, gesture and meaning intertwine to shape a more mindful way of writing.

LA DOTTA Bamboo Limited Edition inaugurates this journey with the purity of an ancient symbol, one associated with the ability to bend without breaking, to remain steady even as the wind shifts and to look toward the future with renewed hope.

In Japanese culture, bamboo is a silent teaching: an invitation to resilience, to inner integrity, to balance in times of transformation. Its essential elegance becomes a visual narrative, matter turning into meaning.

The creation is entrusted to Urushi master Takeshi Matsuyama, a guardian of a natural lacquer that demands slowness, precision and an absolute dedication to the art of time.

The surface reveals the material texture of the Ishime finish, inspired by the hardness of winter earth, while the Maki-e decoration, crafted with gold and silver powders, draws the bamboo motif on the pen’s body like a natural ideogram.

The nib, too, carries its own tribute: a dedicated engraving, discreet and precious, conceived as an intimate detail visible only to the one who writes.

Each piece belongs to a limited edition of 68 samples, and each progressive numbering is pantograph-engraved on the ring of the filling system, together with the name “Bamboo Limited Edition”.

The signatures of the artist and of SCRIBO, the latter engraved in katakana in a delicate dialogue between Italian identity and Japanese culture, appear on the cap.

The ritual continues in the packaging: a handmade wooden box closed with a cord in a pure Japanese style, conceived with an essential aesthetic in which nothing is superfluous. The fountain pen is wrapped in a pen pouch made from kimono fabric, a gesture of protection and good fortune that evokes the slow, reverent rhythms of tradition.

LA DOTTA Bamboo becomes an invitation to begin the New Year with clarity, tenacity and inner momentum.

It is the opening of a trilogy that already hints at its next two editions: Pine and Plum, emblems of timeless and ever-shifting virtues.

“The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.”

– Japanese proverb –

TAKESHI MATSUYAMA

The artist who created the numbered Bamboo edition

Takeshi Matsuyama was born in Yamanaka and, since childhood, had the opportunity to observe his father at work, crafting artworks using the maki-e lacquer technique.

These experiences deeply shaped him both as a person and as an artist.

His work arises from the awareness of the need to preserve traditional maki-e techniques in today’s globally competitive environment.

“Creating objects that have been regarded as works of art for centuries means preserving an inheritance.

It is a responsibility that invites us to maintain both technical integrity and the spirit of those who came before us.”

– Takeshi Matsuyama – 

Matsuyama-san considers both his identity and his craft as bridges to traditional Japanese culture.

Mastery of technique is, for him, the fundamental prerequisite for any artist: only when technical skill is fully evident, the artist’s personality can emerge.

He creates artworks designed to be perceived through all five senses, distancing observers from the mass-produced objects that dull awareness.

To pursue his artistic vision, Matsuyama-san draws from both traditional Japanese style and new international design, applying Japanese techniques to give life to each creation.

His inspiration comes above all from nature: the white of winter and the varied colours of flowers and plants in the other seasons. Spirituality also plays a fundamental role in his work, Matsuyama-san notes that he always carries Shintoism in his mind as a guiding presence.

L'articolo BAMBOO Numbered Edition proviene da SCRIBO - Scrittura Bolognese.

A silent journey connects Bologna to Yamanaka Onsen.

Two distant worlds, but close in spirit: one, rooted in the millenary wisdom of its stones and towers; the other, guardian of an ancient art that relies on the patience of the hands and the slow passage of time.

Yamanaka Onsen is a small hidden corner in Ishikawa Prefecture where, in the silence of hot springs and walks in the woods, the tradition of wood carving and precious “urushi” lacquering has been handed down for centuries, a patient and delicate ritual.

From the symbolic encounter between Bologna and Yamanaka Onsen, LA DOTTA Yamanaka Onsen was born, a fountain pen that becomes a bridge between cultures, languages and traditions. Covered in the refined urushi Tamenuri lacquer, in the warm wood brown tone, the pen breathes depth and transparencies, like a forest at sunset that changes light with every step. Each layer of lacquer is waiting, breathing, a gesture repeated with care, capable of transforming itself into living matter that preserves the essence of time.

Within LA DOTTA collection, dedicated to the city of Bologna and its inexhaustible cultural vocation, this special model carries with it the soul of the East and intertwines it with the memory of the West.

It is a hymn to writing understood as a journey, a trace that unites distant lands and tells new stories, in the flow of ink.

Master urushi Shimizu-san has expertly dressed an Italian handcrafted product with his mastery, giving life to a dialogue made of care, dedication and respect for time. Each piece is the result of months of work, slow and precise gestures that encapsulate the passion of two worlds united by the love for art.

With LA DOTTA Yamanaka Onsen, writing becomes an experience, an echo of traditions that dialogue and merge, leaving the poetry of a timeless encounter in the written sign.

L'articolo LA DOTTA Yamanaka Onsen proviene da SCRIBO - Scrittura Bolognese.

There really is something mysterious and magical about Japan.

We admired sheepish landscapes almost hidden by the endless falling snow on our trip at the beginning of 2025.

Even more surprising was our meeting with the Urushi masters with whom we began our collaboration last year, and seeing in real the making of our fountain pens with such an ancient technique where every gesture, slow and precise, strives for perfection was an almost mystical experience.

And on that dark night, a green reflection of the lights of the traditional houses of Yamanakaonsen caught our attention…

The silent elegance of deep green
There is a color that slips through your grasp, like a thought dissolving at dawn.
A green hidden within black, vivid and mysterious, revealing itself only to those who know how to pause and truly see.
This is how PIUMA HANE Kuro was born — the second gem in our PIUMA Urushi collection.

Following the reddish-brown hue of the first edition, this new creation draws its lifeblood and mystery from the night: a dark, liquid, profound green that emerges like an unexpected reflection, like a whisper held in shadow.

A play of depth
Each surface of HANE Kuro is the result of an ancient ritual, carried out with the patience and meditation of the Japanese Tamenuri technique.

Layers of natural lacquer are carefully applied and fused together, and beneath the black, a green soul glows — shifting with the light, with time, with the gaze of the observer.

This alchemy comes to life in the hands of Arakawa-san, the Urushi master, who shapes each pen with slow, solemn gestures.

Hariya-san seals its identity by delicately inscribing the names of Arakawa-san and SCRIBO in Katakana ideograms: a signature that doesn’t shout but endures.

Finally, Rabea Gebler oversees every detail before each piece returns to Bologna for the writing test and the final touch of perfection.

Green as presence
Green like nature renewing itself in silence.

Green like what grows unseen — but wins over those who know how to wait.

The glossy surface of HANE Kuro holds shifting reflections, invisible to a distracted eye.

Only those who take the time to observe discover its true depth: an invitation to slow down, to feel, to be surprised.

Honouring writing, preserving art
As with the first edition, HANE Kuro comes with a handmade pouch created exclusively for SCRIBO by Marco Montalti, hand-crafted from authentic Japanese kimono silk and haori ribbons.
Every detail tells the story of a meeting: between Italy and Japan, between writing and craftsmanship, between the visible and the invisible.

Limited availability
HANE Kuro is available in only 100 pieces, with yellow gold trim or with ruthenium trim.
Available with flexible 18kt and 14kt gold nibs.
But only for those who can recognize the essence of rare things.

Let yourself be won over by the green that lives within black.

Discover the depth that reveals itself only to those who know how to look beyond the surface.

“One must learn, if one is to see the beauty in Japan,

to like an extraordinarily restrained and delicate loveliness.”

Mary Ritter Beard

L'articolo PIUMA Hane Kuro proviene da SCRIBO - Scrittura Bolognese.

A genuine touch of Japanese artistry has arrived in Bologna

An embodiment of timeless artistry and tradition, the PIUMA Urushi fountain pens are creations of rare beauty, blending Italian elegance with the ancient and exceptional Japanese Tamenuri technique.

The fountain pens are brought to life through the ancient Tamenuri technique, a painstaking process that has been perfected over centuries in Japan. This method involves the meticulous application of multiple layers of lacquer, each derived from the natural sap of the Urushi tree. Layer by layer, the lacquer is carefully cured, creating a deep, radiant red/burgundy finish that feels smooth to the touch and appears almost luminescent. The result is a surface that not only captivates with its depth and sheen but also boasts remarkable durability and resistance to the elements.

Light as a feather 

Meaning “feather” in Japanese, our new edition is named Hane, complementing the spirit of our PIUMA collection, whose name also means “feather” in Italian. This shared symbolism reflects the fountain pen’s lightness, grace, and precision—qualities that transform the act of writing into an art form.

Just as a feather glides effortlessly through the air, the Hane fountain pen glides smoothly across the page. The name also honors the delicate mastery of the Urushi technique, which brings a sense of refinement and timeless beauty to this extraordinary piece. Together, Hane and PIUMA represent the harmony of two cultures, united by their reverence for artistry and elegance.

Layers of Legacy 

The Tamenuri technique is different from other techniques, as the final translucent layer becomes clearer with time and enhances the colour underneath, bringing out the depth of the multiple layers of colour carefully applied by hand. The final translucent layer must be brushed on by hand, and each speck of dust needs to be removed with a needle before curing.

Guided by the steady hands of the master lacquer artist Arakawa-san, each layer is applied with unwavering precision, honoring the centuries-old tradition of Tamenuri. Once the lacquering is complete, a second artisan Hariya-san graces each fountain pen with a subtle, distinctive signature—a quiet mark of exclusivity and authenticity, making each piece truly one of a kind, with SCRIBO on one side and Arakawa-san name on the other, both written in Katakana letters.

Completed with polished metal elements, these new PIUMA Hane editions are the epitome of modern sophistication blended with age-old craftsmanship. The warm, rich tones of the lacquer harmonies beautifully with the sleek silhouette and metallic details, making these fountain pens not only functional writing instruments but also elegant collector’s items. Designed to endure as both a writing tool and a work of art, each fountain pen represents a seamless fusion of Japanese and Italian artistry, creating a piece that holds both cultural significance and timeless appeal.

Limited to only 50 pieces with yellow-gold and 50 pieces with ruthenium trim.

The artists behind the PIUMA Hane 

Arakawa-san – the Master of Urushi

With decades of dedication to the ancient Tamenuri technique, Arakawa-san brings unmatched expertise to every Hane piece. Each layer of lacquer is meticulously applied by hand, a process requiring unwavering precision, patience, and a deep respect for tradition. His craftsmanship transforms every fountain pen into a radiant work of art, showcasing the depth and luster that only Urushi can achieve.

Hariya-san – the artist of the signature

Once the lacquering process is complete, Hariya-san, a renowned artisan, imbues each piece with a mark of distinction. Using Katakana script, he carefully applies SCRIBO on one side and Arakawa-san’s name on the other. This subtle yet significant touch ensures each Hane fountain pen is a one-of-a-kind creation, a true collector’s piece.

Rabea Gebler – the final touch

Finally, all pieces made by Arakawa-san and Hariya-san have been quality checked by Rabea Gebler, before they were sent back to Bologna for final assembling and packaging. German-born, Rabea Gebler mastered the art of Japanese woodturning and Urushi lacquering in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture.

A warm thank you to all of them for helping us to realize a small work of art, an edition that we wanted to realize with all our passion and dedication.

From original kimono to handmade pen pouch exclusively for SCRIBO

Each PIUMA Hane fountain pen is presented in a beautifully crafted pouch, handmade in Bologna by the artisan Marco Montalti at Miyajima, a workshop specializing in Japanese textiles and antiques.

These pouches are made from authentic Japanese kimono fabrics, stitched using the same meticulous techniques employed in traditional kimono-making. Each pouch is unique, reflecting the individuality of the fountain pen it protects. This thoughtful packaging pays homage to the shared artistry of Italy and Japan, making every detail of this edition a celebration of cultural craftsmanship.

L'articolo PIUMA Hane proviene da SCRIBO - Scrittura Bolognese.