Bungu-ya-san Taishō 2026 Winners: Every Top Pick

Five Bungu-ya-san Taishō 2026 winning pens and the Komagoma File A4 standing on one line, each labeled with its award — Winners with published sizes are drawn to scale at 1 mm = 0.75 px; the Solid Write is drawn in proportion.

Products compared

Product	Brand origin	Made in	Price range
LACONIC Solid Write 0.5 mm mechanical pencil (SW-01)LACONIC	Japan	Japan^*	Price range: $$$$20–75 per item
Sakura Komagoma File A4Sakura	Japan	Not stated^*	Price range: $$$5–20 per item
Pilot FriXion Synergy 3, 0.4 mm erasable 3-color pen (LTFS3-14)Pilot	Japan	Not stated^*	Price range: $$$5–20 per item
Sun-Star Mikakunin Hikō (UFO) Flat PouchSun-Star	Japan	China^*	Price range: $$$5–20 per item
Pilot Juice+ 0.4 mm gel penPilot	Japan	Not stated^*	Price range: $under $5 per item
Sailor Profit Casual L Gold Trim fountain pen (11-0820)Sailor	Japan	Not stated^*	Price range: $$$$over $75 per item
Sailor Pensiero Verita S, 2-color ballpoint and mechanical pencil (16-0392)Sailor	Japan	Not stated^*	Price range: $$$$20–75 per item

Notes on these facts

LACONIC Solid Write 0.5 mm mechanical pencil (SW-01): Made by LACONIC Co., Ltd. (株式会社LACONIC), Japan. Made in Japan: LACONIC's own store lists 生産国日本 (country of production: Japan), and its award notices say 製造：日本. Source. Price: example listing.
Sakura Komagoma File A4: Made by Sakura Color Products Corporation (Osaka); sold in the US by Sakura of America. Country of manufacture not stated: Sakura's Japanese product page and spec sheet (read October 23, 2026) give size, weight, material and JAN but no country of manufacture. Released: Sakura's press release of January 29, 2025 gives late February 2025 for the White A4; an online-shop pre-sale of 500 units ran in August 2024.
Pilot FriXion Synergy 3, 0.4 mm erasable 3-color pen (LTFS3-14): Made by Pilot Corporation (Japan). Country of manufacture not stated: Pilot's Japanese press release and web catalog, JetPens and the Amazon.com import listing we read on October 22, 2026 don't state a country of manufacture. Price: example listing. Released: Japanese launch date in Pilot's press release of November 28, 2025.
Sun-Star Mikakunin Hikō (UFO) Flat Pouch: Made by Sun-Star Stationery Co., Ltd. (サンスター文具株式会社). Made in China: Sun-Star's Japanese product page lists 生産国中国 (country of production: China). Source.
Pilot Juice+ 0.4 mm gel pen: Made by Pilot Corporation (Japan). Country of manufacture not stated: Pilot's Japanese press release and web catalog for the Juice+ don't state a country of manufacture. Price: example listing. Released: Japanese launch date in Pilot's press release of November 18, 2025.
Sailor Profit Casual L Gold Trim fountain pen (11-0820): Made by The Sailor Pen Co., Ltd., Kure, Hiroshima, Japan; majority-owned by PLUS Corporation since May 2022. Country of manufacture not stated: Sailor's Japanese product page and Goulet Pens' listing (read October 22, 2026) don't state a country; an Amazon.com import listing calls it made in Japan, which we don't treat as a reliable source. Price: example listing. Released: Japanese launch date on Sailor's product page. Goulet Pens added the 1911 Casual L Demonstrator (11-0823) on September 16, 2026.
Sailor Pensiero Verita S, 2-color ballpoint and mechanical pencil (16-0392): Made by The Sailor Pen Co., Ltd., Kure, Hiroshima, Japan; majority-owned by PLUS Corporation since May 2022. Country of manufacture not stated: Sailor's Japanese product page (read October 23, 2026) doesn't state a country of manufacture.
Price bands are typical US retail, checked October 2026. Conversions to US dollars are approximate, at October 2026 rates (US$1 = ¥158 = ₩1,330 = NT$32.5 = CN¥6.7 = SEK 9.9 = DKK 6.7 = ₺49.6 = C$1.41 = A$1.43 = CZK 21.7; €1 = US$1.12; £1 = US$1.32; CHF 1 = US$1.21).

Key takeaways

Fusosha says shop staff from 13 Japanese retailers judged about 1,200 nominated products released in the previous year.
The grand prize went to the LACONIC Solid Write 0.5 mm, which Hands lists at ¥3,960 (about US$25) and describes as weighing about 23 g.
Pilot's FriXion Synergy 3, an erasable 3-color 0.4 mm pen launched December 19, 2025 at ¥1,100 (about US$7), won the function award.
Twenty-two category awards went to products from 17 makers; KOKUYO, Sun-Star and Midori won 3 or more awards each counting store prizes.
Of the pen winners, we found the Solid Write, FriXion Synergy 3, Juice+ and Sailor Profit Casual L on Amazon.com as Japan imports on October 22, 2026.

What won the Bungu-ya-san Taishō 2026?

The LACONIC Solid Write 0.5 mm mechanical pencil won the grand prize (大賞) of the Bungu-ya-san Taishō 2026, announced by the publisher Fusosha on February 14, 2026. It ranks first because the judges gave it the grand prize; head judge Yoshinori Takagi praised its low center of gravity and fully clear package. Three special awards and 22 category awards followed. Fusosha says staff from 13 retailers judged about 1,200 products that makers nominated from the past year’s releases.

The name means “stationery-shop award.” It is the award Japanese shops use as a buying guide: Hands, one of the judges, set up displays of the winners in its stores from February 14.

How did we choose what to cover?

We didn’t pick these winners; Fusosha’s judges did, and we compiled the results from published sources without testing the products. We list every main and category award from Fusosha’s announcement, with Japanese prices from Hands, specs from the makers and US availability checked on October 22, 2026; our facts box holds the four main winners and three pen category winners.

Which products won the main awards?

Four products won the headline awards: a pencil, a file, an erasable pen and a pouch. Prices are Hands’ tax-included Japanese prices from February 16, 2026; US availability is what we found on October 22, 2026.

Award	Winner	Maker	Japan price	In the US?
Grand prize (大賞)	Solid Write 0.5 mm	LACONIC	¥3,960 (about US$25)	Amazon.com, Japan-import sellers
Design (デザイン賞)	Komagoma File A4	Sakura	¥1,210 (about US$7.70)	Not checked
Function (機能賞)	FriXion Synergy 3, 0.4 mm	Pilot	¥1,100 (about US$7)	JetPens; Amazon.com imports
Idea (アイデア賞)	UFO Flat Pouch (未確認飛行フラットポーチ)	Sun-Star	¥1,100 (about US$7)	No listing found

Solid Write, grand prize. Why it’s here: the judges’ top pick; Takagi noted LACONIC is not a pen maker, and Hands describes a matte, rubber-coated pencil of about 23 g with an anti-roll hexagonal ring and no clip.
FriXion Synergy 3, function award. Why it’s here: it puts Pilot’s Synergy Tip in an erasable 3-color pen for the first time. Pilot lists it as 149 mm (5.9 in) long with black, red and blue ink at 0.4 mm, on sale since December 19, 2025. If you already use FriXion, see our FriXion Clicker guide for how the ink erases.
Komagoma File A4, design award. Why it’s here: a standing accordion file with 13 pockets, 325 × 265 × 35 mm (12.8 × 10.4 × 1.4 in) and 300 g, per Sakura.
UFO Flat Pouch, idea award. Why it’s here: the idea award; the sources we read give its name, maker and price but no specs.

Which pens and pencils won their categories?

Pilot’s Juice+ won the ballpoint category, KAYOU+’s AIMVISION PRO the mechanical pencil category, and Sailor won both the multi-pen and fountain pen categories.

Category	Winner	Japan price	In the US?
Ballpoint	Pilot Juice+ (0.4 mm gel)	¥165 (about US$1.00)	Amazon.com, 8-color import set
Mechanical pencil	KAYOU+ AIMVISION PRO	Not published on the maker page we read	No listing found
Multi-pen	Sailor Pensiero Verita S (2 colors + pencil)	¥6,600 (about US$42)	Only the older Pensiero Verita found
Fountain pen	Sailor Profit Casual L Gold Trim	¥13,200 (about US$84)	Amazon.com, Japan-import sellers
Color pen	Sun-Star Rameko glitter marker	—	No listing found
Eraser	Seed Kadoloop	—	Amazon.com, 12-pack sold by Amazon Japan

Why they’re here: the Juice+, Profit Casual L and Pensiero Verita S won the pen categories, and two of them have US import listings. The Juice+ uses the same Synergy Tip and LP3RF refills as the Pilot Juice Up; our Pilot Juice guide compares all three Juice pens. Sailor lists the Profit Casual L Gold Trim at 141 mm (5.6 in) and 19.8 g, with a steel nib given a gold-colored IP finish, and the Pensiero Verita S at 142.5 mm (5.6 in) and 22 g.

What won the paper, desk and gadget categories?

KOKUYO won three categories, and a phone lock box won desk storage.

Category	Winner	Maker
Pen case	Semi no Nukegara (cicada shell) pen case	Sun-Star
Desk storage	Digitox The Routine phone time-lock case	Sonic
Pouch and bag	In Action pen pouch	LACONIC
File	Campus binder that opens in a second	KOKUYO
Sticky notes	Campus roll sticky notes	KOKUYO
Letter	Mogumogu Letter	Midori
Card	Miyazawa Kenji Gentōkan Kirapika postcards	Shiru-dō
Memo	Kodomo Tetsudō boxed memo cards	Kumpel
Notebook	Tea-time café notebook	Daigo
Stamp	Yuru Log stamps	Midori
Planner	Koyomi Seikatsu planner	Shin Nihon Calendar
Masking tape	mt write-on tape, perforated “arigatō”	Kamoi Kakoshi
Stickers	Glow-in-the-dark icon stickers	Sakura
Clip	Campus book clip that folds like a pen	KOKUYO
Scissors	ZACCC multi-function scissors with magnet	Raymay Fujii
Cutter	Pico Friends cardboard cutter	PLUS

Hands lists the Digitox Routine at ¥4,950 (about US$31) and the ZACCC scissors at ¥1,980 (about US$13). The Yuru Log stamps share a line with the Midori Yuru Log stickers, and the tape is from the maker of mt washi tape; neither winner is the product those guides cover.

Which store awards were given?

Each of the 13 judging shops also named a favorite, and Sun-Star won three of them. Hands chose Sun-Star’s UFO bookmark at ¥440 (about US$2.80), LOFT its Fukimaru desk cleaner and Ishimaru Bunkōdō its cassette-tape tape measure.

KOKUYO won two store awards: Nagasawa chose its Otona no Yaruki Pen and Yodobashi Camera a Campus ruler that doubles as a memorization sheet. Midori also won two: Maruzen Junkudo chose its Oishii Nikki diary and Novelty Kenkyūjo a miniature magnet.

Where can US readers buy the winners?

Mostly from Japan-import sellers on Amazon.com; JetPens carries the FriXion Synergy 3. On October 22, 2026, Amazon.com had import listings for the Solid Write, FriXion Synergy 3, Juice+ set, Profit Casual L Gold Trim, Kadoloop and LACONIC’s pen pouch, sold by Japanese third-party sellers or Amazon Japan, so prices run above Japan’s and stock changes.

Price bands in the table above follow those listings; for winners with no US listing they reflect the Japanese price. For more Japanese pens that are easy to buy in the US, see our best Japanese pens, and for the price gap, US vs Japan stationery prices.

How does it compare with other 2026 awards?

It is the earlier, shop-floor award; the Japan Stationery Award 2026 followed in June at the ISOT trade fair. The Digitox Routine phone case won at both. See every 2026 stationery award winner for both lists and the international design awards.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Bungu-ya-san Taishō?

It is a Japanese stationery award, started in 2013, in which staff from well-known stationery shops judge products released in the past year. The publisher Fusosha runs it and releases an official mook with the results each February.

What mechanical pencil won the 2026 Bungu-ya-san Taishō?

The LACONIC Solid Write 0.5 mm won the overall grand prize, and the KAYOU+ AIMVISION PRO won the separate mechanical-pencil category. The Solid Write is black, clipless and about 23 g, per Hands.

Can I buy the Bungu-ya-san Taishō winners in the US?

Some of them. On October 22, 2026 we found the Solid Write, FriXion Synergy 3, Juice+ and Sailor Profit Casual L as Japan-import listings on Amazon.com, and JetPens lists the FriXion Synergy 3. Most of the paper goods and gadgets had no US listing we could find.

Who judges the Bungu-ya-san Taishō 2026?

Staff from 13 retailers, including Hands, LOFT, Maruzen Junkudo, Yurindo, Yodobashi Camera, TSUTAYA and Nagasawa. Each shop also gives its own store award.

Is the Bungu-ya-san Taishō the same as the Japan Stationery Award?

No. The Bungu-ya-san Taishō is judged by shop staff and announced in February; the Japan Stationery Award (Nihon Bungu Taishō) is run by RX Japan at the ISOT trade fair in June.

How much is the Bungu-ya-san Taishō 2026 book?

Fusosha lists the official mook, published February 14, 2026, at ¥1,045 (about US$6.60) with tax.

Sources (13)

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