If you need a little good fortune, this just might bring it!
One of the many things Japan does so, so right is their incredible stationary and office supplies. Not only are they really high quality, they’re usually either beautiful, cute, funny, or cool, and there’s tons of novelty to be had!
Take this super cool pen, made by product design and production company Heso Productions (who also came up with the idea of canning air at the end of the Heisei period). It’s the bright vermillion color of a torii, or shrine gate, and the pen itself even looks like one of the legs of a torii gate. Written in black on opposite sides of the pen are the characters 奉納 (hounou). This word means “humbly offering to the gods,” and is often carved into the legs of torii gates.
But the best part about it is that at the very top of the pen sits a guardian fox spirit underneath a torii gate! In Shinto tradition, foxes are considered the messengers of Inari, the god of rice, and so fox statues can often be found at the entrance to shrines in Japan, like in the photo at the top of this article.
The pen’s gray fox, wearing a vermillion bib, actually has a tail that moves every time you click the pen open or shut. Isn’t it adorable? The button is on the side of the pen too, so you don’t have to push on the fox’s head.
No doubt this little guy will bring you good fortune if you use its pen at crucial moments. Need to pass a test? Bring this pen to fill in your answers! Want your new job to go well? Sign your contract with the fox pen! The guardian spirit might be willing to protect you and bring you luck if you take good care of it.
The Torii Fox Tail Action Pen is expected to go on sale at the end of October for 1,320 yen (US$8.90). It’ll most likely be available on Heso Productions’ online shop, but if you like to shop in person, Heso says you’ll be able to find it at souvenir and novelty goods shops as well. This would make a great gift to bring back home to family and friends, so if you happen to spot one, don’t hesitate to snatch it up!
Source: PR Times, Heso Productions via Japaaan
Top image: Wikipedia/Immanuelle
Insert image: PR Times
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