SHACHIHATA MEMO PAD AND TIN - 95TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
To mark their 95th year in business, Shachihata has unveiled a collection of stationery inspired by their vintage stamp pad designs from decades past.
The Shachihata Memo Pad and Tin - 95th Anniversary Edition pays homage to their pioneering Mannen Stamp Pad from 1925. In that era, ink pads required re-inking before each use. Shachihata's innovation, the Mannen Stamp Pad, eliminated this need. Initially met with scepticism, the company distributed them as complimentary items to police stations, government bodies, and other public offices until they gained popularity.
This commemorative tin showcases Shachihata's original logo: a flag bearing a carp within a circle. The carp is actually a 'shachihoko', a mythical creature symbolising Nagoya. These beings, with a lion's head and a carp's body, are believed to summon rain. Their statues often adorn buildings and temples as a safeguard against fire.
Interestingly, the Japanese text on the tin appears reversed to modern eyes. Before the Second World War, Japanese was written vertically from right to left, and horizontally in the same direction.
This tin serves as a handy container for small stationery items, whilst the memo pad is ideal for jotting down brief notes or reminders. Some enthusiasts use it to catalogue their ink pad colours.
Product details:
- Memo pad in a commemorative tin featuring Shachihata's original 1925 Mannen Stamp Pad design
- Dimensions: 8 × 5.5 × 3.1 cm (3.2 x 2.2 x 1.2 inches)
- 150-sheet memo pad
- Available in: Red and Blue
- Note: Stamps and ink pads not included
About Shachihata: Founded in Nagoya in 1925, Shachihata is a renowned Japanese ink manufacturer. They made their mark with the revolutionary self-inking Mannen Stamp Pad. Today, their product range extends far beyond stamp pads, and they are particularly well-known for producing 'hanko', traditional Japanese seal stamps. In Japan, hanko are widely used to endorse official documents, much like a signature in Western cultures.