Many people likely remember the excitement of switching from a standard pencil to a mechanical pencil during their childhood. One man in Kyoto was so captivated by that allure that, upon becoming a university student, he went as far as opening a museum dedicated to them.
Kengo Hirose, a 20-year-old junior at Ritsumeikan University, opened the "Mechanical Pencil Museum" in June. It is located in a room within a building near Nishiki Market in Kyoto's Nakagyo Ward.
He displays about 1,000 of the approximately 5,000 pencils in his collection, and visitors are welcome to pick them up and try writing with them. Facilities specializing in mechanical pencil exhibitions are rare in Japan.
The museum showcases masterpieces and curiosities from Japan and abroad, primarily from the 1970s and 1980s. Eye-catching items include the "Mechanica"—the world's first 0.3mm mechanical pencil, developed by Pentel in 1968—as well as a unique model with a built-in radio and an ultra-thin pen measuring just 3mm in thickness; these products symbolize an era when manufacturers competed fiercely with one another.
Related memorabilia is also on display, such as a "One-Two Pen" autographed by baseball legend Sadaharu Oh and a figure of Koji Nakamoto from the comedy group The Drifters. "The use of popular baseball players in promotions offers a glimpse into how booming the mechanical pencil market was at the time," Hirose notes.
Hirose launched the museum to share the appeal of mechanical pencils; admission is free, though visits require a reservation. On a Sunday in mid-July, all reservation slots from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM were filled, with visitors including an elementary school student who had traveled from Tokyo with their grandmother.
The museum is located at Room 512, Kyoto Nishiki HK Building, 599 Nishidaimonji-cho, Tomikoji-dori Shijo-agaru, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City. It is scheduled to remain open for approximately two years, until Hirose graduates from university. Reservations can be made by emailing Hirose at degkky1275@outlook.jp.
