This pen was inspired by the Aomori Nebuta Festival, one of the largest summer festivals held in Japan. The "Oni" (God) and the "Ryu" (Dragon) featured in this pen are among the common figures featured on the floats at the festival. The eyes are in-lays of raden and the images are intricately hand-painted to exude the immense feelings of the figures.
The Aomori Nebuta Festival is held in Aomore prefecture of Japan and attracts millions of visitors each year. It is unclear the exact origin as there are many theories in which explains how the znebuta festival was conceived; the most common explanation was that the festival was inspired by the Tanabata (Star) Festival which originated from the Chinese Qixi Festival, celebrating the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi.
Over 20 floats are brought to the festival each year, each carrying enormous colorful lantern figures that illuminate brightly especially at night. These floats called "Nebutas" average at approximately 29.5 ft (3 meters) wide, 16.4 ft (5 meters) high, and 4 tons in weight.
The colorful imagery on the Nebutas are all carefully hand-drawn by Nebuta-shi (Nebuta artist) often taking months to complete. These figures are often based on characters in Japanese plays or mythical stories. There is intricate utilities work installed on the inside of the floats to allow for the lights to illumninate through the drawn papers to enhance the Nebuta's hulking appearance.
The design is made with Gold Taka Maki‑e, surface paintings sprinkled gold and silver powder, many different colored Urushi, Tama-nuri, Gold Maki‑e and bright colored Maki‑e.
This pen is furnished with an 18k Gold, two-toned #6 nib. What has been described by many Danitrio collectors as the fireball nib is an image of “Kaen-Kohai” which is a flame-shaped halo of “Fudo Myoo” (Acala, the God of Fire). This halo is commonly painted on the back of Japanese Buddhist statues.