Mitsubishi Uni

The story behind the uni name starts not in a factory but at a world's fair. It was at the 1878 Paris World Fair that Niroku Masaki encountered a pencil for the first time — an object so unremarkable to Western eyes that it likely went unnoticed by most visitors, but one that stopped Masaki completely. He returned to Japan determined to make one himself. After years of setbacks and repeated experimental mistakes, he established the Masaki Pencil Manufacturing Company in the Naito Shinjuku area of Tokyo in 1887, eventually producing what is recognized as Japan's first domestically manufactured pencil. By 1901, his pencils were officially adopted by Japan's Ministry of Communications — a breakthrough that solidified the brand's reputation for quality and reliability. To mark the occasion, Masaki registered the three-diamond Mitsubishi trademark in 1903, derived from his own family crest — and notably, a full decade before the industrial conglomerate that shares the name registered theirs. The company took its current name, Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd., in 1952, and the uni brand followed in 1958 — a high-grade pencil that met with overwhelming public approval, far exceeding anticipated sales due to its superior quality, and laying the foundation for what would become one of the most recognized names in Japanese stationery.