BIJO-TO-YAJU

By Tomita Kazuhiko

Bijo-To-Yaju is a luxury, handcrafted, limited-edition writing collection designed and manufactured by Montegrappa in collaboration with Tomita Kazuhiko.

A collaboration between Montegrappa and Japanese designer, Tomita Kazuhiko, has produced one of the most ambitious and avant-garde releases in the recent history of luxury writing. Bijo-To-Yaju fuses elements of Japanese woodblock printing, Kabuki and Kintsugi to fearlessly interpret the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast;

Bijo-To-Yaju bends many of the accepted conventions of pen design with its clipless cap, generous heft and upright display. Centrepiece elements are provided by the sculpted head and rump of the Shishi – an Eastern analogy for the Beast depicted in Jean Cocteau’s 1946 film, La Belle et la Bête. Crafted in vermeil using lost wax casting, each is an example of a jewellery-making technique featured on celebrated Montegrappa editions including Dragon (1995) and Kitcho (2021);

Made in auspicious editions of 222 fountain pens and 99 rollerballs, Bijo-To- Yaju reproduces fragments of 18^th-century Ukiyo-e woodblock prints to transpose the story of Beauty and the Beast through Japanese cultural equivalents. Interpretations of the merchant’s ship, the castle, the fateful rose and the loving couple wrap the length of its acrylic body. Gold enamel relief separates each chapter, emulating Japanese Kintsugi (“golden repair”) technique;

The golden key featured in Cocteau’s film is affixed to the top of the barrel and corresponds to a lock incorporated into the cap band. Both elements are cast in vermeil and offer a veiled comment on forbidden love;

The concept for Bijo-To-Yaju was inspired by a viewing of Cocteau’s film, and Kazuhiko’s fascination with the parallels in symbolism found between East and West – in particular, Kabuki theatre’s depiction of lion-like characters as gallant, heroic figures. His fusion of Japanese artistry and European storytelling draws attention to cross-cultural principles of heroism, beauty and love;

Bijo-To-Yaju is fully handcrafted, with all body components being cast and turned in Montegrappa’s artisanal manufacture. Fountain pens make use of a custom, 8mm 18K gold nib with ebonite feed, serviced by the maker’s famous 32-tooth ratcheted piston-fill mechanism. A lacquered wooden case designed by Kazuhiko emulates the tiered roofs of Japanese medieval castles;

Located beneath Monte Grappa in Bassano del Grappa, Italy, Montegrappa’s factory is celebrating 110 years throughout 2022 as Italy’s oldest, most advanced fountain pen manufacture. The company’s artisans have been responsible for creating many of the pen world’s most complex and audacious designs;

In a relationship facilitated by Veronica Gozzi of Oriented Italia, this first-time collaboration between Kazuhiko and Montegrappa is underpinned by shared curiosity for unorthodox beauty – a notion perfectly embodied by a story that has been retold for more than 4,000 years. Design and development for Bijo- To-Yaju lasted nearly three years – overcoming many pandemic-imposed hurdles in the process;