Cultivating the Joy of Expressing Oneself
Ever since our founding, we have continued to address such questions as, “How should people live?” “What is right character?” and “How should personality be formed to engender love?”
As a result, we have come to the realization that each and every person has individuality, diversity, love, gratitude, and free ideas.
Every person has the capacity to be a precious being.
However, looking back over history, it is also a fact that people have committed various mistakes.
Not only wars and discrimination between different groups, but various other problems such as global warming and ecological destruction arise out of people.
In the age of sustainability, we believe that this is a time to reassess the way people live.
In these times, what is it that can guide people in the right direction?
This is something that cannot be realized by AI or any other kind of technological development.
And it is certainly not an activity that adheres to a rigid methodology.
We believe that the love and sensibility required for people to sympathize with other people, society and the Earth are cultivated through “expressing oneself.”
That means expressing one’s thoughts and feelings as they are felt.
It means deviating from correct answers.
“Cultivating the joy of expressing oneself”
Our vision is underpinned by these sentiments regarding people, society and the Earth.
In 1911, Pentel’s predecessor, Horie Bunkaido, started as a wholesale business of the stationery of the day, such as ink brushes and ink stones, before beginning to manufacture those products itself. Among its leading products was Nigiri-sumi, an ancient ink stick that is gripped in the hand, similar to a crayon. The business also produced ink brushes, an essential writing/drawing tool used in Japan for as long as 1,200 years. The ink brush was a major personal item in Japan during this time. Since it was believed that the user’s personality lives in their handwriting/drawing, artisan brushmakers needed highly refined techniques for achieving the finest possible brush tip in order to produce brushes with a comfortable writing experience. This long-established culture and technology underlies two of the three important concepts Pentel is committed to: “technology at the tips” and “lowering the barrier.”
- 拡大
- Founder Yukio Horie
In Japan after World War II, calligraphy education was banned in accordance with Allied Occupation policies. Against this background, Yukio Horie, founder of Pentel, predicted that arts and culture such as music and painting would become widely popular, and so decided to manufacture crayons, seeking to provide new tools of expression for children to substitute for ink brushes. As there was virtually no market for the product in Japan in those days, Horie and his employees studied manufacturing methods with reference to literature they had acquired on their own, and launched the crayon business from self-procured facilities. This period represents the beginning of our commitment to “colors,” the third and remaining important concept, and the commencement of our ongoing challenge of developing expression tools.
Having its origins in Horie Bunkaido, which underpinned Japan’s literary culture, Pentel was found based on the firm conviction that the children of Japan needed education in drawing and painting after the war.
Pentel has always pursued the “joy of expressing oneself” while staying attentive to changes in society and the environment.
“Cultivating the joy of expressing oneself” is a commitment that Pentel makes with all stakeholders, including our customers, the local community, and our employees.
We daily conduct activities that are geared to fulfilling this commitment.
We create the tools that enable people everywhere to give form to their inner thoughts and feelings, and to cultivate the joy of expressing themselves.
Creation of tools that are not merely “drawing and painting materials” or “writing instruments.”
They are not just materials for drawing and painting beautiful pictures, nor are they writing instruments for conveying information.
They are tools that enable people everywhere to give form to their inner thoughts and ideas in a straightforward manner.
We believe that these tools will continue to be needed by people, precisely because we now live in a world of AI.
We have expressed these thoughts as Our Vision.
Boldly break boundaries.
“Boundaries” here refers to stereotypes that we have adopted without a second thought.
Tools of expression are not just tools that enable us to work more efficiently. They are tools for supporting people's creativity and allowing them to express their joy and dreams.
Since our founding, Pentel has overcome stereotypes to create tools that add color to the lives of many people by being synonymous with profound expression.
Furthermore, to help people exhibit and express creativity, joy and dreams, which are needed more than ever, through our tools, we will continue to face up to our challenge while breaking free from stereotypes that go under the name of “correct answers.”
We formulated the Pentel Group Code of Conduct in 2015 and have communicated and enforced it to our affiliates all over the world.
As a global business operator, Pentel not only practices compliance with laws and ordinances, but also seeks to comply with corporate and social codes of ethics, our own internal rules, and laws and regulations on both the national and local levels. Moreover, we espouse and promote compliance across the entire Group as a guiding principle for right action.
