The business originated as Harunosuke Ogawa Shoten in Asakusa, Tokyo, before evolving into the modern Tombow Pencil corporation.2

The name Tombow is derived from the Japanese word tonbo (とんぼ), meaning dragonfly. In Japanese culture, the dragonfly carries significant historical associations; the country was once referred to as Akitsu-shima, or “dragonfly island”. The insect was also known as kachi-mushi (“victorious insect”), symbolising good fortune.3

Founder Harunosuke Ogawa registered the dragonfly as the company’s trademark in 1927, establishing it as the defining corporate symbol. While the modern logo has evolved considerably from the original realistic illustration, it continues to incorporate the dragonfly concept.4

Early years and pencil manufacturing

Tombow traces its origins to 1913, when Harunosuke Ogawa opened a stationery and pencil shop named Harunosuke Ogawa Shoten in Asakusa. During its initial decade, the company produced various pencil types, including H.O. Pencil, MASON, STICK Pencil, SUBMARINE Pencil, CABINET, REPORTER, and assorted novelty items.

In 1920, the company adopted “H.O.P.” as a trademark. By 1927, it had replaced this with the dragonfly mark and released its first full-scale TOMBOW DRAWING PENCILS the following year.5 Throughout this period, the company operated fundamentally as a specialist pencil manufacturer rather than a diversified stationery brand.

Expansion into comprehensive stationery

Between the 1930s and 1950s, Tombow significantly expanded its manufacturing capabilities beyond pencils to include sharpeners, mechanical pencils, ballpoint pens, markers, and drafting products. A corporate reorganisation in 1939 separated manufacturing and sales functions, solidifying the Tombow identity.6 By the late 1950s, the company had transitioned towards the broader writing instrument business that would define its later growth.

Development of the MONO brand

The MONO brand launched in 1963 as a high-quality drawing pencil. The name derives from the Greek word monos, signifying “one”, “only”, or “unique”.7 Originally positioned as a premium writing and drawing tool, the brand subsequently expanded into a comprehensive family of stationery products.

In 1967, Tombow introduced MONO 100, its highest-grade pencil at the time. Notably, these pencils were packaged with a plastic eraser, which was then relatively uncommon in Japan. Consumer demand for the eraser as a standalone item led to the creation of one of the most significant products in Japanese stationery history.8

The MONO Eraser

Launched as an independent product in 1969, the MONO Eraser is distinguished by its blue-white-black striped sleeve.9 This design was originally intended to make the small eraser visually distinctive, but the stripes themselves became iconic, strongly associated with both Tombow and Japanese stationery culture. The product remains globally recognisable across school, office, drafting, illustration, manga, and graphic design contexts.

Crucially, MONO developed into a broad product family encompassing pencils, correction tapes, mechanical pencils, and other writing instruments, rather than remaining solely an eraser brand.10

Diversification into adhesives

During the 1970s, Tombow moved beyond writing instruments. In 1971, the company launched PiT, described as Japan’s first domestically manufactured glue stick.11 This established adhesives as a major category, completing a cycle of core stationery functions: writing, erasing, correcting, and sticking. This diversification transformed Tombow from a pencil manufacturer into a comprehensive stationery provider.

ABT Dual Brush Pen

Introduced in 1984, the Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pen is widely used by artists and lettering enthusiasts. Historical records indicate the line originally comprised 72 colours, later expanding to 144, with the current range consisting of 108 colours.12 Its defining feature is a dual-tip construction combining a flexible brush tip with a fine bullet tip. This versatility supports lettering, calligraphy, illustration, colouring, sketching, journaling, and watercolour-style techniques, establishing Tombow’s presence in the creative art market.13

ZOOM series

Launched in 1986, ZOOM represents Tombow’s design-focused writing instrument philosophy. Rather than adhering to conventional pen forms, the series explores unusual shapes, proportions, and mechanisms.14 An early notable release was the ZOOM 505, a thick ballpoint pen with a distinctive rubber grip. The series embodies a fusion of writing functionality, industrial design, and individuality, distinguishing it from the utilitarian nature of the MONO line.7

Fudenosuke

Fudenosuke combines fude (brush) with nosuke to denote a Japanese brush-writing character. These pens feature controlled brush-like tips suitable for handwriting, lettering, Japanese script, illustration, sketching, and bullet journaling. Unlike the high flexibility of ABT pens, Fudenosuke is positioned as a more controlled tool for precise writing and lettering tasks.14

Brand portfolio

Tombow maintains a diverse portfolio of branded and unbranded products:8

• MONO: Pencils, erasers, mechanical pencils, and correction products
• PiT: Glue sticks, glue tapes, and liquid adhesives
• ZOOM: Premium design-oriented writing instruments
• ABT: Dual Brush Pens and art/lettering products
• Playcolor: Creative colouring and children’s art products
• IROJITEN: Coloured pencil products
• Fudenosuke: Brush-style writing and lettering pens
• ippo!: Stationery designed for children and students
• Yo-i: Children’s and student stationery accessories

Beyond these named brands, the company manufactures pencils, coloured pencils, ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils, markers, correction tape, sharpeners, and adhesives.1516

Tombow exemplifies the Japanese stationery tradition of applying meticulous attention to everyday objects. While pencils are simple tools, the company competes on details such as balance, grip, tip construction, lead quality, erasing performance, refill mechanisms, packaging, ergonomics, and industrial design. The company describes its stationery as facilitating thinking, creation, idea formation, and communication.17

Design is integral to Tombow’s identity rather than mere decoration. Products frequently utilise design to solve practical problems:

• AirPress: Uses a pressurised mechanism for writing in difficult conditions
• MONO zero: An ultra-fine eraser for precision work
• MONO graph: Combines a mechanical pencil with a dedicated eraser mechanism

This approach follows a consistent pattern: identifying a specific stationery inconvenience, engineering a solution, and ensuring ease of use. Products including MONO zero, AirPress, PFit, MONO air, MONO graph, and ZOOM series have received recognition from programmes such as Good Design, iF Design, and Red Dot.18

The Tombow dragonfly logo has undergone several transformations:

• 1927: Dragonfly registered as trademark19
• 1928–1957: Realistic, downward-facing dragonfly used on products, particularly drawing pencils
• 1957–1995: Designer Takashi Kono created a modernised mark as the company expanded into pens
• 1995–2012: Global logo introduced featuring distinctive treatment of the letter W
• 2013–present: Current abstract corporate symbol introduced for the centenary, retaining the dragonfly motif20

In 2013, Tombow celebrated its 100th anniversary. To mark this milestone, the company unified its international corporate branding and introduced a new logo representing freedom and energy whilst preserving the dragonfly motif.21 This coincided with the company’s evolution from a domestic pencil manufacturer to a global stationery corporation.

Key milestones in international expansion include:

• 1980: Establishment of Tombow Pen & Pencil GmbH in Germany
• 1983: Establishment of American Tombow in the United States
• 1990: Commencement of overseas production in Thailand
• 2011: Establishment of Tombow Pencil (Dalian) in China
• 2000s onwards: Significant manufacturing expansion in Vietnam22

American Tombow proved particularly significant for North American market penetration, where art products gained popularity among artists, crafters, educators, and hand-lettering communities.23

Although Tombow remains a Japanese company, production occurs across multiple countries. Current manufacturing and development facilities include:

• Manufacturing & Development Centre — Aichi, Japan
• Tombow Manufacturing Asia — Vietnam
• Tombow Vietnam
• Tombow Stationery Vietnam24

Production in Thailand began in the early 1990s, followed by capacity development in Vietnam. This expansion allows cost management whilst maintaining quality standards.25 Consequently, the Tombow brand identifies the manufacturer and quality origin, though individual products may be manufactured outside Japan.

As of 2026, Tombow operates as a diversified manufacturer across multiple categories:26

Writing
* Pencils and coloured pencils
* Ballpoint pens and multifunction pens
* Mechanical pencils
* Marking pens and water brushes
* Crayons

Correction
* Erasers and replacement erasers
* Correction tapes

Adhesives
* Glue tapes and sticks
* Liquid glue

Accessories
* Pencil sharpeners and caps
* Pencil-training tools

The company continues to introduce new products; 2026 announcements included FUMI, new AirPress colours, updated MONOGRAPH items, and revised PiT products.27

Tombow occupies a distinct position within the Japanese stationery landscape compared to other major manufacturers:

While overlap exists between categories, Tombow is particularly associated with the intersection of traditional Japanese writing instruments, precision stationery, correction products, and creative art tools.

The MONO brand remains central to this identity. Since 1963, it has maintained a consistent reputation for high-quality, precise, and understated stationery. The MONO Eraser’s striped sleeve demonstrates effective branding, transforming a mundane object into a design icon recognisable even without the logo.28

Tombow’s consumer-facing ecosystem comprises interconnected brands serving different segments. This structure reflects the company’s evolution from a single-category pencil maker to a multi-brand stationery manufacturer addressing writing, correction, adhesion, and creative expression needs.29

1. Company Profile | TOMBOW PENCIL
2. About Tombow | Mission + Diversity | Environmental Policy
3. Company History | TOMBOW PENCIL
4. Story of the Tombow Logo | TOMBOW PENCIL
5. MONO | TOMBOW PENCIL
6. MONO | TOMBOW PENCIL
7. ZOOM | TOMBOW PENCIL
8. Brands | TOMBOW PENCIL
9. The world of Tombow | TOMBOW PENCIL
10. The Tombow Pencil introduces a new corporate logo mark.The 100th anniversary of our founding in 2013 | TOMBOW PENCIL
11. TOMBOW PENCIL
12. tombowusa.com
13. Dual Brush Pen History
14. Everything You Need To Know About Tombow Pencils – Tombow USA Blog
15. History of Mechanical Pencil | TOMBOW PENCIL
16. History of water-based ballpoint pen | TOMBOW PENCIL
17. 沿革 | 株式会社トンボ鉛筆
18. MONO | 株式会社トンボ鉛筆
19. Tombow Europe: About us
20. Tombow Europe: Tombow Brand Overview | Tombow
21. About Us | Tombow – Tombow UK
22. Products – Tombow USA
23. Tombow USA
24. All Products – Tombow USA
25. Catalogs – Tombow USA
26. Art & Craft Supplies | Brush Pens, Pencils & Adhesives | Tombow
27. Press Room – Tombow USA
28. School & Office Supplies | Pencils, Erasers & More | Tombow – Tombow USA
29. New Tombow Products | Tombow Dual Brush Pen | Tombow Markers – Tombow USA