Ohto


Ohto Co., Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturing company of writing implements. The company was established in 1919 as a manufacturer of dyes and ink. In 1949, the company became a pen manufacturer after they manufactured the world's first ball point pen with a chrome ball. This was also Japan's first ballpoint pen.
Current products manufactured by Ohto are fountain, rollerball, and gel pens, refills and mechanical pencils.

History

The story of Ohto started when Nakata Touzaburo, an employee of the Ministry of Finance, invented a special ink, which he thought would be perfect for use in banknotes. After his idea was rejected by the Ministry, Touzaburo decide to establish a company by himself, establishing "Nakata-Ohka-do" in 1919 as a manufacturer of ink, setting up in Tokyo.
When the United States Army brought ballpoint pens with them, Japanese people were amazed by them and their long-lasting ink system, due to ballpoints did not need to be filled as often as fountain pens did. Nakata took note of this, and in 1949 Nakata-Ohka-do released the first ballpoint made in Japan, named "Auto pencil". It also became the world's first pencil-shaped ballpoint pen with chrome ball. To match its own invention, the company also renamed to "Auto".
In the 1960s, Ohto also released the first water-based ballpoint pen. on Ohto website In 1974, the company realised that the word "Auto" was too closely associated with cars, and changed its name again to "Ohto".