Irojiten Color Dictionary of Colored Pencils

A set of 36 colored pencils organized like a color dictionary. Irojiten joins the Japanese words iro, color, and jiten, dictionary, and the sturdy storage box is built like a book, opening to reveal a palette drawn from nature. The shades were chosen to sit well together, so gradations come easily, whether the subject is a flower, an animal or a landscape.

Made in Japan by Tombow, these Japanese colored pencils have cedar wood barrels and a hard, dense lead for precise details and sharp lines. Everything for sketching lives in this one box: the pencils, a small pencil sharpener, and a folder pocket in the lid that holds the pamphlet of drawing tips in Japanese along with loose sketches. It packs away on a closet shelf, slips into a tote bag for sketching on the go, and makes an easy gift for an illustrator or anyone who sketches.

Tombow was founded in Tokyo in 1913 by Harunosuke Ogawa and remains a family company. Its products have won the Red Dot Award and the iF Product Design Award.

Part of our Japanese Minimalism and Well-Designed Writing Instruments collections.