Tombow 8900 (Tombow 8900) ①
It has been continuously produced since its launch in 1945.
Tombow's classic
I want to know about the Tombow 8900 pencil.

The Tombow 8900 was launched in November 1945 as the finest pencil for photo retouching.
Currently, it is used for general writing and office use.
It is a pencil that is loved by many people.

It was a model that came out as a successor to the Tombow 8800, which was sold as a high-quality pencil at the time.
With the wish that it will be sold with the momentum of the green bamboo that succeeds the Tombow 8800,
Some say it was named the Tombow 8900.
(The Japanese pronunciation of 破竹hachiku is the same as the number 8 (hachi) and 9 (ku))
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<Tombow 8900 from 1945 to August 1948 / Source: Tombow website>
Prior to 1948, before the ground plane design of the Tombow 8900 was settled,
There have been many changes.

* I couldn't find a clear photo material
Published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Tombow
Images were taken from the Tombow Perfect Book.
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< 1945 Tombow 8900 ground and pencil design >
The ground and pencil design immediately after its launch in November 1945
It can be seen that English notation is not visible at all.

As a product developed during wartime and released after the war,
Produced during the period of exclusion of aptitude fish
It is assumed that there is no English transcription.

* What is the exclusion of hostile language (the language of the enemy country)
As a kind of language purification movement that took place in Japan during the Sino-Japanese War and World War II,
It was conducted against English, the language of the host country, the United States or Britain.
Most of the Chinese characters were used to purify the apex words,
There was no difference between the native Japanese language and the Chinese characters.

It's a scanned copy, so the image isn't clear
Unlike the current Tombow 8900, it is a very deep navy blue.
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< 1946 ~ March 1948 Tombow 8900 ground and pencil design >
These are the ground and pencil designs from 1946 to March 1948.
The second design is different from the release design
All are written in English.
There is no picture of the back, but it is said that all product descriptions were in English.

Although the pencil barrel color is brighter than the released model,
It is closer to cyan than the current color.
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< April 1948 - August 1948 Tombow 8900 ground and pencil design >
It was released for a very short period from April to August 1948.
Ground and pencil design.

From this point on, the color of the pencil barrel was changed to green.
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Since 1948, the Tombow 8900 has been
It retains the pencil design of the yellow ground and olive green barrel.

From 1948 to the present, the design has hardly changed.
It also won the 2011 Good Design Long Life Design Award.

However, it has not changed at all over the past 70 years.
I looked for the difference as if I was looking for the wrong picture.
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< Grounds from the 1950s to the current model (from top) >
Produced in the 1950s, 1970s and 2017
I compared the current model Tombow 8900.

** For convenience, from 1948 to the early 1950s,
From the 1960s to the current model in the middle period,
The model currently being produced (2017 production model) was divided into the current one.
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< In order, early, middle, current >
The shape of the window that is opened so that the pencil can be seen becomes more and more current.
It was thinned and the curvature was emphasized.

The circular figure to the right of the yellow ground figure
Until the Middle Ages, it was printed in navy blue and black.
Currently, only black is printed.

The JIS mark (Japanese Industrial Standards mark) that has been in effect since 51
It is marked on the early and middle ground people,
You can confirm that it is not marked on the current ground plane.
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< 1950s / 1965 / 1968 / 2017 in order from top to bottom >
There are also many changes to the rear of the ground plane.

Initially, the company name was Tombow Pencil Works,
In the mid-term, it can be seen that the company name has been changed to Tombow Pencil.
The company name was changed in 1964.

Also, until the early 1960s, the price of one stroke was printed on the ground plane.
From the late 1960s, prices were excluded.
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inside the round bounding box
Until the middle, it was written as Tombow Feather Touch,
Currently, the history of the Tombow 8900 is explained.

And it's written in small letters
The most striking thing in the present is MADE IN VIETNAM
The Tombow 8900 is now produced in Vietnam.
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On the side of the ground
A pencil that was used for high-end photo editing
You can see that it has been changed for general writing.

Highest Quality → High Quality
最高級 (highest grade) → 高級 (advanced)
寫眞修整用(for photo editing) → 一般筆記用(for general writing)
RETOUCHING PENCILS → GENERAL WRITING PENCILS
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The Tombow font on the side is
Until the middle period, it has an elongated shape than the current one,
You can see the current change in bold type.
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the other side of the side
Until the middle stage, it was marked as Retouching,
Currently, it has been changed to High Quality.
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