Our Story

Stan & Miki have been buying, selling, and collecting Japanese pens for almost a decade and over 5,000 pens have passed through our hands. Why Japanese pens?

Our interest began with a trip to the Los Angeles International Pen Show on a rainy Sunday afternoon. With not much more to do, we thought it an interesting way to spend an afternoon and, besides, it was only ten minutes from our home. My wife who is Japanese quickly rediscovered marques like Pilot, Platinum, and Sailor and we purchased several models from the 1970s. As a natural pack rat I wanted to find more and, at the time, there were not many at the show. Soon, I tried to purchase as many Japanese pens as I could find and afford on eBay. There were no sellers from Japan at the time and most of the pens were sold by Americans who had acquired the few for sale. Our collection slowly began to grow.

In about 2001 or 2002, sellers from Japan opened shop on eBay and collector interest in Japanese pens increased. Prices quickly escalated to beyond what we knew they should be. Few Westerners were acquainted with Japanese pens, prices in Japan, their availability, levels of quality, and high prices were often paid for common models. We almost abandoned pens and sold off much of what we had.

We visit Japan regularly to see relatives and tour out-of-the-way places. One afternoon I asked Miki if there were any pen shops in town. She said she didn't think so, so I asked her to look in the telephone book. One. Just one, was found to be near where we had planned to go for dinner.

This was a fantastic little shop that had been in existance since before World War II and run by the same woman all these years. She was eager to show us every one of her fantastic pens. We could not afford everything and purchased four very pretty pens that have become the cornerstone of our current collection.

My interest was piqued and renewed and, on return to America, was determined to find more. Knowing the pens most available on eBay would be priced more than what I wished to pay, I enlisted the help of family members in Japan to seek out pens from antique shops and the like, and obtain some from Yahoo Japan, the Japanese equivalent of eBay. Why not, as this was where many of the pens eventually sold in America were originally purchased.

Soon our cabinets were filled with more pens of designs and marques we never knew existed. It was soon obvious we could not collect everything and wanted to share our fortune with fellow collectors and users of Japanese pens.

Our first sales were on Pentrace where we invited prospective buyers to be part of a mailing list for future sales. Sales were very successful and the list quickly grew.

We also posted messages encouraging others to consider buying from Yahoo Japan. This would need to be done through a proxy service, of course. Several posts were removed without explanation, readers were discouraged by anonynmous posters, and insulting email was received.  To not alert our competition, we moved our sales as much 'underground' as possible.

Sales continued to grow and our mailing list is now in the low four figures. We pioneered low price, real cost shipping anywhere in the world. We gave away small gifts with each sale and sold pens with converters. Most on the 'bay still provide only two cartridges.

Our website is a long-cherished dream. Recently, Stan was invited to be a Moderator for the Pens From The Land of The Rising Sun (Japan) forum at Fountain Pen Network. He has also been asked to write articles for The PENnant, magazine of the Pen Collectors of America. We owe the pen collecting community much and trust what we offer on our site will compensate in a small way.

Ryojusen (Jap.) (Eagle Peak - English) is a small mountain located north-east of Rajagriha, the capital of Magadha in ancient India. Eagle Peak is known as a place frequented by Shakyamuni, where he is said to have expounded the Lotus Sutra and other teachings. According to The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom by Nagarjuna, Eagle Peak derived its name from its eagle-shaped summit and the many eagles inhabiting it. It symbolizes the Buddha land or the state of Buddhahood, as in the expression "the pure land of Eagle Peak." We have chosen Ryojusen as our name as it represents the great joy our pens bring.

Thank you very much for visiting. 

RYOJUSEN

霊鷲山