Moleskine notebooks, which trace their roots to the paper pads artists and writers turned to for decades, saw their sales in Japan in 2008 hit ¥500 million, or 10 times what they took in when Tokyo-based Qahwa Ltd. began distributing the brand here in 2005.
Qahwa founder Carlos Granon, 38, attributes Moleskine's success to its storied history.
"Stationery is usually considered a commodity, but Moleskine is a cultural heritage," he said. "Picasso, Hemingway and Van Gogh used the notebook. I think Japanese people like this kind of grand history."