Zebra Pen History: Steel Nibs, Sarasa and Mildliner
Zebra began in Tokyo in 1897, when Tokumatsu Ishikawa made Japan's first domestic steel dip-pen nibs. He named the nibs Zebra in 1914, the company became Zebra Co., Ltd. in 1963, and it launched the Sarasa gel pen in 2000 and the Mildliner highlighter in 2009. The Ishikawa family still runs it.
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Key takeaways
- Tokumatsu Ishikawa, not yet 20, made Japan's first domestic steel pen nibs in 1897 and sold them under a foreign-sounding name, Anson Iris, until he adopted ZEBRA and the zebra mark in 1914.
- Zebra moved into ballpoints in 1959 and renamed Ishikawa Pen-saki Seisakusho as Zebra Co., Ltd. in 1963, six months before the founder passed away in October 1963.
- The Sarasa came out in 2000 and the Sarasa Clip in 2003; Zebra says the Clip passed 1 billion pens shipped by March 2022.
- The 2009 Mildliner was Zebra's fourth try at a pale highlighter; Zebra gives 250 million shipped by March 2024 and 400 million by February 2025.
- Zebra reported consolidated sales of 39.6 billion yen (about US$251 million) for the year to March 2026, with 2,037 group staff, and Taro Ishikawa has been president since 2022.
Zebra is one of the oldest pen makers in Japan and one of the few still run by its founding family. The dates below come from Zebra’s Japanese company history, its “Shimauma Note” article on the company name and its press releases, translated by us.
What is the history of Zebra pens?
Zebra began in 1897 as Tokumatsu Ishikawa’s Tokyo workshop for steel dip-pen nibs, took the ZEBRA name for its nibs in 1914 and became Zebra Co., Ltd. in 1963, the maker of the Sarasa gel pen and the Mildliner highlighter. It moved from nibs into ballpoints in 1959 and into markers, mechanical pencils and gel pens after that.
No outside company has bought Zebra. Its profile lists Zebra Holdings Co., Ltd. alongside Zebra Co., Ltd.; Zebra’s timeline says the holding company was set up in 2020, and an Ishikawa has led the company since the start.
Zebra timeline: 1897 to 2023
Zebra’s history runs from one steel nib in 1897 to a new factory building at its Nogi works in 2023. Dates are from Zebra’s Japanese pages.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1897 | Tokumatsu Ishikawa makes and sells Japan’s first domestic steel pen nibs | Zebra history |
| 1914 | Nibs renamed ZEBRA; zebra trademark adopted | Zebra history |
| 1959 | Ballpoint ink developed; ballpoint production starts | Zebra history |
| 1963 | Renamed Zebra Co., Ltd.; Hideaki Ishikawa becomes president | Zebra history |
| 1966 | Nogi factory, Tochigi; clear-barreled Crystal ballpoint | Zebra history |
| 1976 | Hi-Mckee, Japan’s first twin-tip oil-based marker | Zebra history |
| 1981 | Twin-ball system against ink backflow | Zebra history |
| 1982 | Zebra Pen Corp. (U.S.A.) opens | Zebra history |
| 1997 | 100th anniversary | Zebra history |
| 1998 | Shinichi Ishikawa becomes president | Zebra history |
| 2000 | Sarasa retractable gel pen | Zebra history |
| 2003 | Sarasa Clip | Zebra history |
| 2009 | Mildliner highlighter | Zebra history |
| 2014 | DelGuard mechanical pencil | Zebra history |
| 2016 | Sarasa Dry | Zebra history |
| 2020 | Zebra Holdings Co., Ltd. set up | Zebra history |
| 2022 | Taro Ishikawa becomes president | Zebra history |
| 2023 | New factory at the Nogi site | Zebra history |
Who founded Zebra, and why “Zebra”?
Tokumatsu Ishikawa founded Zebra and chose the name in 1914, when the First World War cut off imported nibs. Zebra’s article says nibs were mostly imported in early Meiji Japan, and Ishikawa, not yet 20, made his first ones at home, punching them from sheet steel and working at night by an oil lamp.
Because imported goods were thought better, he first sold his nibs as “Anson Iris”, a foreign-sounding name. The nibs won prizes at exhibitions and were bought by the Imperial Household Ministry.
When the war stopped imports, Ishikawa wanted a name of his own and picked ZEBRA from a foreign book. Zebra gives three reasons: zebras survive by sticking together, the Japanese word 斑馬 combines the characters for “writing” (文) and “king” (王), and the backward-looking zebra stands for learning from the past.
The logo came 17 years before Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo got its first zebra in 1931, Zebra notes. Ishikawa renamed the company after the brand in 1963, half a year before he passed away that October.
How did Zebra move from nibs to ballpoints and markers?
Zebra developed its own ballpoint ink in 1959 and spent the next two decades adding ballpoints, markers and mechanical pencils. Its timeline lists a three-color ballpoint (1964), sign pens (1965), the Crystal clear-barreled ballpoint with its “you can see it” ads (1966), and brush pens and highlighters (1975).
The Hi-Mckee of 1976 was Japan’s first twin-tip oil-based marker. The Sharbo of 1977 combined a ballpoint and a mechanical pencil, and in 1980 Zebra sold what it calls the industry’s first 100-yen mechanical pencil.
Zebra opened its US company in 1982. Our guides cover two of the pens it sells there, the steel-barreled Zebra F-301 and the Z-Grip.
When did Zebra launch the Sarasa?
The Sarasa retractable gel pen came out in 2000, and the Sarasa Clip, with its spring-loaded binder clip, in 2003. Zebra’s 2023 release says the Sarasa Clip passed 1 billion pens shipped by March 2022.
The same release cites Nikkei POS data ranking it Japan’s top-selling gel pen in chain stores every year from 2012 to 2022. Zebra added milk-colored inks in 2015 and the quick-drying Sarasa Dry in 2016.
Our guides cover the Sarasa Clip and the Sarasa Dry. Zebra has also added the DelGuard mechanical pencil (2014) and the bLen ballpoint (2018).
Where did the Mildliner come from?
The Mildliner, launched in 2009, was Zebra’s fourth attempt at a highlighter in pale colors. Zebra’s Mildliner page says three earlier pale highlighters never became regular products, but fans kept asking for them to come back.
For the fourth try Zebra rethought the concept, the target buyers and the design, giving the pen a pure white barrel and a rounded colored clip. Zebra credits social media with spreading it to the Americas, Asia and Europe.
Zebra’s April 2024 release gives more than 250 million shipped by March 2024, across 35 Mildliner colors and 25 Mildliner Brush colors. Our Zebra Mildliner guide covers the double-ended marker.
Who runs Zebra today?
Zebra is still privately held and led by the founding family: Taro Ishikawa became president in 2022. Zebra’s profile gives consolidated sales of 39.6 billion yen (about US$251 million) for the year to March 2026 and 2,037 staff across the group.
Zebra lists capital of 90 million yen (about US$570,000) and its head office in Higashi-Gokencho, Shinjuku. Unlike Pentel or Sailor, it has not been bought by a larger company; our ownership overview and Japan stationery story compare it with the other Japanese makers.
What couldn’t we confirm?
Zebra’s own Mildliner figures don’t fit together, and its pages don’t explain how Zebra Holdings relates to Zebra Co., Ltd. The April 2024 release says more than 250 million by March 2024; the Mildliner page says 400 million by February 2025, eleven months later. Both are Zebra’s own shipment figures, and we give both.
Zebra’s profile lists Zebra Holdings Co., Ltd. alongside Zebra Co., Ltd. but doesn’t say who owns which, so we list Zebra Co., Ltd. without a parent. Zebra’s pages give only years, not days, for the 1897 founding and the 1914 trademark.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Zebra pens?
Tokumatsu Ishikawa (石川徳松). Zebra's history says he had loved making things since childhood and, not yet 20, worked out how to make steel pen nibs at home by lamplight, starting Ishikawa Pen-saki Seisakusho in 1897. He passed away in October 1963.
Why is the zebra in Zebra's logo looking backward?
Zebra says the backward glance stands for onkochishin, learning the new by studying the old. The mark has shown a zebra looking back over its shoulder since 1914; the background has changed over the years, but the pose has not.
When did Zebra start making ballpoint pens?
In 1959, after it developed a ballpoint ink that kept well. Zebra followed with a three-color ballpoint in 1964, the clear-barreled Crystal ballpoint in 1966 and the Sharbo pen-and-pencil in 1977.
When did the Sarasa Clip come out?
In 2003. The first Sarasa, a retractable gel pen, came out in 2000, and Zebra added the movable binder clip three years later. Zebra's 2023 release says Nikkei POS data ranked the Sarasa Clip the top-selling gel pen in Japanese chain stores for 11 straight years, 2012 to 2022.
Is Zebra Pen Corporation the same company as Zebra?
It is Zebra's US company. Zebra's Japanese timeline says Zebra Pen Corp. (U.S.A.) opened in 1982, followed by companies in the UK (1992), Canada (1995) and Mexico (1998).
What is the Hi-Mckee marker?
A twin-tip permanent marker, fine at one end and broad at the other, that Zebra launched in 1976 and calls Japan's first double-ended oil-based marker. Its Mckee family is still one of Zebra's main lines in Japan.
Did Zebra make the first gel pen?
Zebra doesn't claim that. Its timeline lists the Gel-Bee, a water-based pigment gel-ink pen, in 1992, later than Pentel's Hybrid gel pen, which Pentel dates to 1989. Zebra's own firsts are the steel nib of 1897 and the twin-ball anti-backflow system of 1981.
Sources
- Zebra (Japanese): 沿革 (company history, 1897–2023)
- Zebra (Japanese): ペンの会社がナゼしまうま？！「ゼブラ」社名の秘密 (the founder, Anson Iris, the 1914 zebra mark and the 1963 rename)
- Zebra (Japanese): 会社概要 (company profile: founded 1897, 39.6 billion yen sales in the year to March 2026, 2,037 group staff)
- Zebra (Japanese): 「サラサクリップ20周年イベント」開催, press release, 2023 (1 billion shipped by March 2022; 11 years No. 1)
- Zebra (Japanese): マイルドライナー (Mildliner story: fourth pale highlighter; 400 million shipped by February 2025)
- Pentel (Japanese): ぺんてるのあゆみ (Pentel's history: Hybrid gel-ink pen, 1989)
- Zebra (Japanese): 『マイルドライナーのもと』, press release, April 24, 2024 (250 million shipped by March 2024)