Gondola Pastel

About

We are the only manufacturer in Japan specializing in soft pastels with a history of over 100 years! We continue to produce “Gondola Pastels” in Higashiyama, Kyoto, where our company was founded, pursuing our own unique coloring and drawing style while learning from the West. Pastels Born to Paint Japan European pastels cannot depict Japanese landscapes. Gondola Pastels were born from this desire of painters. We have 242 colors that can depict the mountains and trees of Japan, and can express the tones that suit the climate of the country. Gondola Pastel was the first pastel produced in Japan and is the only manufacturer in Japan specializing in soft pastels, which have been produced by hand for over 100 years since 1919 and are loved by Japanese light painters. Unlike other paints, pastels are difficult to mix. Therefore, in order to freely express the colors you want to paint, you need multiple colors of pastels. Gondola Pastel manufactures 242 colors of pastels to fully express the beautiful colors unique to Japan. About Color The founder had his own ideas about color creation. Japanese people are not very conscious about blue and red. However, they are highly sensitive to green and gray. It is said that he always said, “In other words, the painter's awareness of these colors is the same as the creator's awareness of these colors. Unlike other manufacturers, Gondola Pastel produces only black and white as achromatic colors, and consciously adds color to the gray in between. This can be said to be an influence of traditional Japanese culture, which has enjoyed subtle changes in color, known as “Hyakugui” (one hundred mice). In addition, in general pastel production, the method of creating a basic color and building on it to create gradations is often adopted. However, Yazaki must have thought that simply creating gradations would be difficult to meet the demands of his customers, who were not satisfied with the existing pastel shades. In the process, we mixed diff