Interview with Szabolcs „Shirokuma” Varga
1. A few years ago, I found their The Shirokuma online store 2. website while searching for Japanese fountain pens available at home. I remember being instantly captivated by the colorful and refreshing selection of the webshop. I particularly liked that, despite not being its main profile, the online store had a very colorful (new and used) selection of fountain pens. Of course, I stumbled upon a special and rare piece that I admired for a long time: it was a used but almost new Pilot Custom Urushi fountain pen.
3. The next time I visited the site, the pen I had my eye on was no longer among the products. A pop-up window informed me that the entire team of the Shirokuma webshop was in Japan, and if I had any questions, I should send an email. I wrote one that same day – and Varga Szabolcs, the owner of the webshop, replied to my letter. This is how our acquaintance began.
4. Szabolcs, who was working in Japan at the time, and I regularly corresponded over the past year and a half to two years, despite the significant time difference: I asked for his opinion on various Japanese stationery countless times. I might not be exaggerating if I say that perhaps only his humility is greater than his knowledge.
5. At my urging, Szabi became our “correspondent stationed in Japan”: first, he introduced the 6. Tokyo Pen Show in the Budapest Pen Show community magazine, then 7. he wrote an article about the special Japanese nibs. 8. Then in the summer, he revealed that he was returning home, and I decided that come what may, I would interview him. After a brief coordination, he invited me to his home. 9. Szabi, could you please tell us how you got in touch with the Japanese language and how you ended up in Japan?.
10. Actually, I owe it to a fortunate coincidence that the Japanese language and culture became a part of my life. As a university student, I had a unique opportunity: I could attend classes at ELTE's Japanese department. I was so captivated that I eventually completed both degrees, and out of the 16 students who lined up on the first day at ELTE, I was the only one who finished my studies in 4 years.
11. From there, it was a straight path to Japan, where I participated in a postgraduate program between '95 and '99. Here, I managed to complete a previous project: I wrote a program for practicing Chinese characters (
12. kanji.
13. ). Of course, it looks ridiculous by today's standards, but it was selected among the best shareware language learning programs of the time – the program's database became the basis for the later created ’physical’ flashcards.14. Szabolcs, during his scholarship, carrying a shrine at the Takasago-chō matsuri festival15. I have been translating more or less since I was 20, and interestingly, this career really took off in Japan: due to the time difference, I became very popular because by the time clients woke up, they received the finished translation. When I returned home, I worked as a „respectable” IT consultant for a few years, but translation grew into its own company, which became Shirokuma.
17. When did you go back to Japan?.
18. In 2008, another opportunity arose when I could work not only as an interpreter but also as an IT specialist. In 2009, while in Tokyo as a guest at an IT exhibition, I also dropped by a stationery exhibition held at the same time and place, where I met representatives from the Kuretake company. I was already familiar with the brand name because my own brush pen also came from this company.
When did you go back to Japan?
In 2008, another opportunity arose when I was able to work not only as an interpreter but also as an IT specialist. In 2009, while in Tokyo as a guest at an IT exhibition, I also dropped by a stationery exhibition held at the same time and place, where I met representatives from the Kuretake company. I was already familiar with the brand name because my own brush pen was also from this company.
We quickly became friends – it always makes a good impression in Japan if a foreigner speaks Japanese and tries to be polite – they were delighted that there is interest in Japanese calligraphy from a distant country, and the collaboration began… and the Shirokuma web store.
Since you mentioned the webshop: what special product range do you have?
The product selection includes many little things that may seem a bit strange from a Hungarian perspective. Out there, the „100 yen” stores are filled with all sorts of useful and useless items: lunch (bento) boxes, motor erasers, funny kitchen accessories. Back home, at events for anime fans, we had the opportunity to test these products on the local audience. But by now, these little accessories mainly just add color to the Shirokuma web store's offerings.
Our product range still mainly relates to Japanese culture: whether it's about language learning, writing, reading, or calligraphy, we strive to provide useful items, thanks to direct (and often factory) imports, at prices much more accessible than in Western Europe.
You also sell many calligraphy-related products on the website.
That's right. In connection with Japanese calligraphy, there was an unavoidable domestic expert, Nikolasz Gáncs (japankalligrafia.hu), who helped with professional advice in assembling the product range related to calligraphy. The originally ink and brush manufacturer Kuretake has since started making all sorts of products not only for Japanese but also for Western calligraphy.
We ordered some of these as a trial, and we received very positive feedback (for example, that drawings made with Mangaka fineliners do not fade even after years). We strongly believe that these writing instruments need to be tried out, held in hand – if there is demand for it, we help our customers learn how to use them, both personally and with some of our own publications.
I am particularly fond of the Shirokuma colored fountain pen selection, as you sell both old and new writing instruments. How did you come into contact with these writing instruments?
In 2016, I saw a Pilot Capless fountain pen in a friend's hand – this encounter proved to be fateful. I tried it out and was flooded with memories. My favorite fountain pen from my student days was a Chinese Parker 51 clone, and it turned out that in Japan, you can buy quality fountain pens at incredibly low prices (Platinum Preppy, Pilot V-Pen). I started to delve a bit deeper into the topic. I read professional articles and blogs, and in the meantime, I got a bit sucked into Japanese auction sites. I managed to try out numerous old and new fountain pens, I also wrote about my experiences. Then I took a deep breath and bought a big bag of these used Japanese fountain pens and listed them on the Shirokuma web store.
Is it worth trading in used fountain pens?
In what sense? Financially less so, but you can meet very interesting people… 😊
Of course, I try to sell the pens for more than I bought them for, but it can be guessed that this is not Shirokuma's strongest business area. To be honest, on one hand, it’s an incredibly good – and addictive – feeling to share Japanese quality with others and see the expressions on people's faces when they realize that they don't have to pay a small fortune to get quality items.
On the other hand, the Japanese service quality (that certain 1. omoiyari2. ) a slow but very strong marketing tool: we insist that people try as many things as possible, we do not try to persuade them to buy the most expensive items, we give small gifts, etc. Compared to how little we spend on marketing, our few customers are very loyal...
3. By the way, it can be said that the Japanese take great care of their belongings, which is often reflected in the condition of their pens. The Japanese 4. recycle shop5. offerings have also appeared on online marketplaces for quite a few years now. Many unused stationery items from estates often end up on online auction portals in Japan.
7. Nowadays it is increasingly difficult, but at one time it was very good to buy from these. Many wonderful pieces have also made their way to the Shirokuma web store from such sources: special nib sizes and types (e.g., pocket) fountain pens, urushi 8. lacquered, 9. hira-maki-e 10. patterned models...
11. Do you write with a fountain pen in your everyday life?
12. Unfortunately, I don't write by hand enough, but when I do, I try to use a fountain pen. At the same time, I love experimenting, I haven't committed to a single brand, although I can't help but notice that more and more Pilot (and to a lesser extent Platinum) pens are coming into my hands. One of my favorite pens, however, is a cheap Chinese piece that has completely „worn” to my hand.
14. The other 15. is the Hongdian 1850 ("Black Forest") featured in the Budapest Pen Show magazine. These are thinner, metal pens – I like elegant, but not feather-light writing instruments, these suit my hand. Among the larger brands, the Parker Sonnet and a few narrower Pilot (Cavalier and Capless 16. décimo 17. ) are great favorites –18. in the store 19. these often appear as available items. these often occur as seller copies.
It was noticeable that there are not only Japanese fountain pens in the product range…
Once I bought a large pack of fountain pens, in which I also found Parker writing instruments. I highly appreciate the Sonnet series, as well as the Lamy 2000 fountain pen. We strive to offer writing instruments in the webshop that we have personal experience with.
You can get acquainted with the product range of the Shirokuma webshop at the I. Hungary Pen Show as well. What are you preparing for the exhibition?
As a former Japanese government scholarship student, the Shirokuma brand is also about helping to share Japanese culture with others, things that the Japanese can justifiably be proud of, the feeling of „small everyday luxury.” We will bring fountain pens, brush pens, brush markers, inks, and other Japanese writing instruments, as well as various papers (and the notebooks made from them), and the plan is to allow everyone to try everything, really everything.
We will have a surprise product offered only at the event, and we are also planning a „pen rummage.” We invited our favorite calligraphy master, Nikolasz, whose superpower is that even at the most bustling event, a Zen peace reigns within a two-meter radius. And of course, he tells about Japanese calligraphy like no one else.
