No discussion of the is complete without venerating the artisan himself. Hikaru Aoyama is a Denshi Dentōshi (Living National Treasure candidate). He is famously reclusive, working only by natural light in a studio that smells of cedar chips and old books.
Her work often plays on a "feline" aesthetic, which aligns with the "Milky Cat" branding of this specific series. milky cat dmc 25 hikaru aoyama the one pinter special
Further complicating matters, Aoyama reportedly retained three of these 18 for his personal collection and archive, while Pinter kept two for himself. This leaves only 13 pieces that have ever entered the collector market. Of those 13, nine have confirmed locations in private collections across Japan, the United States, and Europe. The remaining four are unaccounted for – possibly still in unopened collections, waiting to be discovered, or held by anonymous collectors who have chosen not to register their pieces with the community. No discussion of the is complete without venerating