Editing Ohto (section)

== History ==
The story of Ohto started when Nakata Touzaburo, an employee of the Ministry of Finance, invented a special ink, which he thought would be perfect for use in banknotes. After his idea was rejected by the Ministry, Touzaburo decide to establish a company by himself, establishing "Nakata-Ohka-do" in 1919 as a manufacturer of ink, setting up in [[Tokyo]].<ref name=cult/> 

When the [[United States Army]] (that had occupied [[Japan]] after the [[World War II]]) brought [[ballpoint pen]]s with them, Japanese people were amazed by them and their long-lasting ink system, since ballpoints did not need to be refilled as often as [[fountain pen]]s. Nakata took note of this, and in 1949 Nakata-Ohka-do released the first ballpoint pen made in Japan, named "Auto pencil". It also became the world's first pencil-shaped ballpoint pen with [[Chrome plating|chrome]] ball.<ref name=hist/> To match its own invention, the company also renamed to "Auto".<ref name=cult/>

In the 1960s, Ohto also released the first water-based ballpoint pen, thus establishing a new category of pens: [[rollerball pens]].<ref name=hist>[https://www.ohto.jp/index.php?main_page=page_3 History] on Ohto website</Ref> In 1974, the company realised that the word "Auto" was too closely associated with [[car]]s, and changed its name again to "Ohto".<ref name=cult/>