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Kyo Ware and Kiyomizu Ware

History of Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware

Kyo Ware (京焼) / Kiyomizu Ware (清水焼) are typical traditional crafts of Kyoto Prefecture. They are both ceramics and pottery. They have 400 years of history, and now over 300 kilns are located in Kyoto Prefecture. Until the capital of Japan moved to Tokyo, Kyoto region had been the center of Japan, and it was the big market that many ceramics were gathered from all over Japan. Generally, it is considered that Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware originated in the Momoyama period (ca. 1580-1600). This age was the time that the tea ceremony prevailed, and Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware were used especially when people treated their guests. In other words, Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware were a luxury at the time, and they were offering to the Emperor, the nobility, feudal lords, and temples. Until the Edo period (ca. -1600), Kyo Ware was the genetic name for ceramic ware that was baked in Kyoto region, and Kiyomizu Ware was just one kind of the ceramics. However, other kinds of Kyo Ware declined, and Kiyomizu Ware is the only kind that remains. Kiyomizu Ware is now also used as a synonym for Kyo Ware, but there are still slight differences between two terms. This is the reason why we call this ceramic ware with a double name (Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware). In the Edo period (ca. 1600-1868), Ninsei Nonomura (also commonly known as Seiemon Nonomura), a ceramist, mastered a technique of Nishiki-de (a drawing skill. Especially red, green, yellow, purple, blue are used for it), and he played an important role in developing Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware. Besides him, many ceramists (Kenzan Ogata, Eisen Okada, and Mokubei Aoki) were active in this era, and their work and techniques made the status of present Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware unassailable. One of the factors that Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware have thrived is that ceramists have succeeded to predecessors’ handworks and styles. Another important factor is that Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware established the division of labor among material suppliers, ceramists who shape ceramics, ceramic painters, and potteries (potters). Techniques of Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware were introduced to all over Japan and influenced much pottery, such as Kutani Ware.

Features of Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware

First of all, Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware has elegance and refined beauty as ceramics that thrive in Kyoto, the beautiful capital city in ancient times. Almost all manufacturing processes are done with hands. Ceramic painters are able to give the drawings a three-dimensional effect with their skills, so that Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware look breathtaking and keep captivating us, and this is the point that printed paintings can never imitate. Many of the designs have a flavor of Kyoto, and they also give ceramics outstanding elegance. As mentioned above, as Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware produced mainly with hands, their absolute quantity is always very small. On the other hand, sticking to handwork in most procedures makes ceramics able to have soft and warm feelings. Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware have varieties of techniques, and these techniques give pattern and color variations on ceramics. (About varieties of coloring techniques are discussed in the next paragraph.) Compared with other Japanese ceramics or pottery, Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware do not only rely on one special technique. In other words, they have been supported not by an exceptional technique, but by ceramists who grope for improvement of their works and devote themselves to it. However, ceramists needed to face difficulties to keep old techniques. Since an air pollution problem got more serious, the government decided to encourage potteries to change firewood kilns (which is the traditional type of kilns for Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware) to electric kilns or gas kilns. It is actually not necessarily bad for Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware, because it was a great opportunity to review and streamline manufacturing processes, and actually ceramists succeeded to increase productivity.

Colors of Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware

Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware have many color variations, but especially acombination of red and gold is peculiar to Kyo Ware. Since both colors are very loud, it is often difficult to make the perfectly balanced combination of them without a garish impression. Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware are the rare examples that succeed to harmonize those two bright colors. On the other hand, Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware have a technique called Some-tsuke, and this is an opposite color design to the last example. Some-tsuke is drawing designs on white ceramics only with indigo-blue paint. Among lovers for Japanese pottery and ceramics, there is a saying that deep interests in pottery and ceramics start from Some-tsuke and end with Some-tsuke. It means that Some-tsuke is simple yet appealing, fascinating, and very deep to understand and appreciate it. Besides these techniques, a technique and idea of Ninsei Nonomura, one of the famous ceramists (also mentioned in the first paragraph) play important parts in colors of Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware. The interesting point of his works is that he succeeded to stimulate our imagination and our associations of colors. In one of his works (a teapot called Iroe eshimon chatsubo), he drew poppies with colors that are different from real colors of poppies. Wild poppies we can see in Japan usually have pink or light purple, but his painted with red, gold, silver and dark gray. Even though he did not paint them realistically, we can see and feel poppies even more real in his painting. This is the trick and technique he was good at. His bold attempt on coloring is very unique, and it is very appreciated as a big charm of Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware.

How To Use Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware

As mentioned in the beginning, Kyo Ware has two types: ceramics and pottery. In Japan, ceramics are also called as Ishi-mono which means ‘stone ware’ since ceramics are made of stones or rocks. Compared to pottery, ceramics are more solid, because they are baked in high temperature. Besides that, they are not absorbent of water, so that they rarely get stains. Pottery is called Tsuchi-mono, means ‘clay ware’. Pottery has a large variety of colors due to a wide variety of clay. It is high water absorbent and easy to get stains, especially from tea. Some people do not like this feature, but lovers of pottery are fascinated with this because they see the color change as a part of bringing up their own pottery. In other words, stains show how many times they use the pottery and make them feel they build memory or history together. It is similar to a perspective or a feeling that we appreciate well-used tools. If you still want to avoid having the stains on pottery, there are several things you can do not to make pottery get stained easily. One of the ways is soaking pottery overnight in water in which rice has been washed, and soaking just water or warm water right before you use.
There are some things you should be careful with when you use Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware. Firstly, some of Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware are not good at holding acidic or salty food for a long time, because their acidity makes the beautiful colors fade away. The other thing is microwaves. The use of microwaves also causes the colors fade away or changes them to darker colors. Especially gold and silver paints are very delicate and very weak to heat, so it is also recommended not to use dishwashers.

References

・日本セラミックス協会
http://www.ceramic.or.jp/museum/yakimono/contents/kyou/sanchi_kyou.html
・やまなか雅陶
http://www.yamanaka-gato.com/kiyomizuyaki.html
・清雅堂陶苑
http://www.seigado.jp/newpage2.htm
・NHK　美の壺
http://www.nhk.or.jp/tsubo/program/file212.html
・うまか陶（染付について）
http://www.nhk.or.jp/tsubo/program/file212.html

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Edo Karakami ( 江戸からかみ )

edokarakami

( image from : http://www.tokyomatsuya.co.jp/showroom/shoplist.html )

 

The history of paper is so old and this invention enabled us to write down or paint on what we want to leave for the future. Among many kinds of paper, the Japanese one (called washi) is one of the most durable paper and used for many purpose; it’s said that washi lasts for a millennium, and many historical records on washi are quite readable and thus conduce to many discoveries about the old days of Japan. Actually, the Japanese currency is also made of special washi, and even laundering does not damage the currency too badly. (Of course, I mean, the case that you should misplace your money in your pocket till washing!)

Some people, however, rather looked into washi itself and made it a kind of art. This kind of washi is used for interior decorations and other splendid materials. Edo Karakami is one of such special washi.

Introduction

Karakami is originally from China, which was “paper with some pattern on”, and the root of Japanese Karakami can be traced back to as old as 8th century.

The modern definition of karakami is “processed paper” which is used to make fusuma, or a Japanese removable sliding door. This partition can separate two rooms and also turn them into one big room when it’s removed.

A fusuma has washi on it, instead of other materials such as glass. This washi has great patterns on the surface; so fusuma are not only functional but also enjoyable to watch. You may well think that Japanese people use a big picture as a sliding door, perhaps. Karakami is the special washi for this purpose, and Edo Karakami is the most special one among the special washi.

Kyo Karakami and Edo Karakami

Karakami has two kinds in it, actually: one is Edo Karakami, and the other Kyo Karakami. What’s the difference?

In the history, Kyo Karakami was rather expensive and something for upper classes. They used top-notch materials to make the washi, which was loved by many Japanese aristocrats. In the early days, few people appreciated the beauty of Karakami, but the Edo Era (17th century), in which the population of Japan skyrocketed, saw more and more people come to demand it, leading to the increased supply; this gave a birth to new manufacturers of Karakami. Edo Karakami is one of such relatively newer method to make washi.

By contrast to Kyo Karakami, which was mainly used to embellish fusuma more decoratively, Edo Karakami was something for ordinary people. Thus, the technique to make Edo Karakami was preferably preserved by many people. The unique patterns of Edo Karakami also attracted European people, and some masterpieces are kept in some museums in such countries: Alcock Collection and Siebold Collection are some examples of them.

Ebb and flow of Edo Karakami

In the Meiji Era, the manufacturers in Tokyo (which was previously called Edo) came to lead the fusuma industry by their washi, but this prosperity was thwarted by the notorious Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. This culprit of the death and loss of almost 143,000 people also caused many fire disasters, depriving them of as many as 4,000 or 5,000 printing wood blocks to put a pattern on paper.

After this catastrophe, many people endeavored to restore the printing blocks and some of them came back then, but the Great Tokyo Air Raids in 1945 also devastated this industry almost to death.

However, even after undergoing this pandemonium, Edo Karakami did not get extinct. In 1991, some artisans of Edo Karakami got together to realize the recovery of Edo Karakami and solicited the Japanese government to support them. As a result, in 1992, Edo Karakami was designated as one of the traditional arts of Tokyo, followed by the designation as one of the Traditional Crafts by the Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry; then in 2007, it was certified as a “local brand” by Patent Agency. Now, Edo Karakami came back as one of the greatest arts that Japan is proud of.

How to make Edo Karakami?

As mentioned above, putting patterns on washi to make Edo Karakami requires printing blocks of wood. However, it’s not just “stamping”. They spread some pigment on the block and then place washi “onto” it, not vice versa. Then, they rub the sheet by hand to make the thickness of the color perfect and beautiful. Various materials are used for this pigment and some looks like the beauty of pearl and others like Japanese picture of monochrome. Moreover, the variation of Edo Karakami is not only colorful or monochrome: there are “colorless” ones.

In this case, one example is doing the same process mentioned above without any pigment, making the pattern visible in relief. They sometimes dye this relief to make it more beautiful. Other example of this colorless Karakami is doing the same process but by something hard and solid, not by hand. This technique refines the surface of the sheet and makes it shine, which looks as if they painted the pattern in wax.

On the other hand, some people knead washi to add cloth-like texture to it. In this case, they don’t use printing blocks.

The modern Edo Karakami

Edo Karakami is traditionally used for fusuma, which requires Japanese-styled housing layout. So, do we have to give up to add the zest of Edo Karakami if the house is well western-styled? The answer is NO.

Nowadays, you can find many articles of Edo Karakami, which are perfect to decorate your room. Just placing these products in your room will make Japanesque atmosphere there. Or, it’s also a good idea to just put Edo Karakami on your wall or ceiling.

In addition to this, Edo Karakami is retrieving the original usage of paper now — writing and painting on. Actually, some artists, especially Japanese-picture artists, are appreciating the quality of washi of Edo Karakami for the texture and durability, and they preferably choose this paper to make their pieces last long. Likewise, you can find letter paper made of Edo Karakami available, which is perfect for writing to somebody special for you. How about enveloping your words with Japanese historical texture?

References

http://www.tokyomatsuya.co.jp/knowledge/edokarakami.html
http://kougeihin.jp/item/1403/
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%94%90%E7%B4%99

江戸からかみ─その歴史的背景と多彩な展開　久米康生 東京松屋
工芸美術を語る」アトリエ社

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Karatsu Ware

History of Karatsu Ware

Karatsu Ware (唐津焼) is a Japanese traditional craft from Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture. It has over 400 years of tradition, and it is recognized as one of the three great Japanese tea pottery. Although various theories of its origin, it is considered that the first Karatsu Ware was baked in a feudal estate of Matsuura Clan in 1580’s. Matsuura Clan had the biggest power in all over the region of present Saga Prefecture. Karatsu Ware succeeded to improve its technique and increase productivity with the help of Korean potters after Bunroku-Keicho no eki (Japanese Invasions of Korea, 1529-1598). In the Edo period (1600-1868), kilns for Karatsu Ware were supported by Karatsu Clan, and they became official kilns that bake for the clan exclusively. In 1868, however, local administration system run by clans was abolished and replaced by the present prefectural system. Since then, Karatsu Ware lost the strong backup, and it was steadily declining throughout the Meiji period (1868-1912). The turning point of Karatsu Ware was brought by a potter called Muan Nakazato. He is one of Living National Treasure of Japan, and he revived old technique of Karatsu Ware, which passed into oblivion. (Incidentally, the technique was popular from the Momoyama period to the early Edo period, ca. 1580-1640.) Because of his strenuous efforts, Karatsu Ware got more potters who work on its improvement, and it led to nowadays Karatsu Ware success. Lately, more potters incorporate modern idea or designs into traditional techniques, and about 70 kilns bake Karatsu Ware in all over Karatsu City.

Features of Karatsu Ware

Since Karatsu Ware is made of coarse clay, the impression of it is vigorous yet beautifully simple. This is one of the characteristics Karatsu Ware has and keeps attracting many people’s attention from ancient times. Another charm of Karatsu Ware is having ‘Yo no bi’, which means the beauty we can find in the use of something if the word is translated word to word. Having Yo no bi means that pottery can be completed only after it is used. In other words, this type of pottery cannot be perfect or completely appreciated if it is just watched and not used. There is a saying to describe the concept – 80 percent of the pottery is created by potters, and the rest of it is completed by users. This is the fascinating feature of Karatsu Ware, and at the same time, it is the beauty of it as a pottery which used for daily life. Besides this feature, Karatsu Ware is famous for a greater variety of designs and techniques compared to other pottery in Japan. There are six types of Karatsu Ware: Picture Karatsu, Dappled Karatsu, Black Karatsu, Korean Karatsu, Mishima, and Powdered Karatsu. In the following sections, we take a close look at each of them.

1. Picture Karatsu (E-garatsu)

Picture Karatsu is called E-garatsu in Japanese. Incidentally, E means pictures, and garatsu is the same as Karatsu. Ka became a voiced consonant (ga) due to one of Japanese grammar called Rendaku; ‘Rendaku (“sequential voicing”) is a phenomenon in Japanese morphophonology that governs the voicing of the initial consonant of the non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word.’ (Wikipedia) E-garatsu is the mainstream of Karatsu Ware and the most popular type. It is considered that Karatsu Ware is the first pottery that got painted among all Japanese pottery. The pottery is made of light brown color clay that contains relatively small amount of iron. A solution of iron called Oni-ita is used to draw pictures. Motifs of E-garatsu are things familiar to anybody, such as plants, trees, flowers, and birds, and these pictures are drew with brushes or fingers. The picture is quite simple, but it has both vigorousness and fineness.

2. Dappled Karatsu (Madara-garatsu)

Dappled Karatsu is called Madara-garatsu in Japan, and it is also known as Shiro Karatsu (White Karatsu). As you can guess from its name, it has many black or blue speckles on its surface. The speckles are formed since some materials of pottery, such as iron contained in clay or ash from firewood (pine trees) melt and flow out to the surface. For glazing, opaque white ash glazes are used, and this is the reason why it is also called as White Karatsu. Madara-garatsu is a traditional type of Karatsu Ware, and it is considered that Madara-garatsu originated in the latter part of the 16th century. These days, many potters put efforts to reproduce pottery of the century and keep challenging their techniques.

3. Black Karatsu (Kuro-garatsu)

Black Karatsu (called Kuro-garatsu) is made of high iron containing clay or glazes. There are roughly three techniques to create Kuro-garatsu. The first technique is using high iron-containing rocks. Potters crush the rocks and mix it with ash glaze. The second way is simply using clay which containing a lot of iron. The third technique is dissolving mud that contains a lot of iron in the water, and pouring it on pottery or soaking pottery in it before baking. Although the general term for this kind is Black Karatsu, this type has a variety of colors. This variety happens because of the amount of iron that rocks or clay contain, or the degree of oxidation. Common colors of Kuro-garatsu is amber, yellowish brown, and blackish brown.

4. Korean Karatsu (Chosen-garatsu)

Korean Karatsu is made with the technique of using two kinds of glazes. One is containing a lot of iron, and the other is containing ash. Due to colors of glazes, Korean Karatsu is famous for beautiful black and white color contrast. The common pattern of grazing is adding iron glaze on the lower half of pottery, and pouring ash glaze from the top of the pottery. The ash glaze trickles down the surface and touches the edge of the iron glaze part, and these two glazes blended themselves naturally and create stunning shades of colors. At the borderline between black and white, some light colors appear, such as light blue, light purple and light yellow. There are also other patterns of glazing, for example, adding iron glaze on the upper part of the pottery and adding ash glaze on the lower part of it. Furthermore, adding one of the glazes on the right-hand side and glazing the other on the left-hand side, and vice versa. Potters often liken the borderline of two colors to beautiful scenery and design it.

5. Mishima

Mishima is made with the technique that was brought from Korea. In Karatsu region, Mishima has been baked since the Edo period (ca. 1600-). Before pottery dry completely, potters put emblems on the surface. There are some kinds of emblems, and the emblems are the feature of Mishima. After that, potters put muddy water on the surface of pottery and glaze on the top.

6. Powdered Karatsu (Kohiki)

The last kind is Powdered Karatsu. It is originally called ‘Kohiki’, and it is considered that it was named after the feature of the surface – it is as if it was powdered or having white deposits on it. Like Mishima, Kohiki also gets muddy water on pottery, but the method is different. In the case of Mishima, muddy water is added like glaze, but in the case of Kohiki, pottery soak in the muddy water. Original color of clay is brown, but the surface of pottery turns into beautiful white color by adding white muddy water. After this part, potters let the pottery dry completely first and glaze on the top. This technique used for Kohiki is a traditional one, which has been used for many years in Korea, but it was not used for Karatsu Ware before. This technique was introduced recently.

References

・唐津観光協会　旅Karatsu
http://www.karatsu-kankou.jp/guide/karatsu/
・唐津焼窯元
http://karatsuyaki-kamamoto.jp/about.html
・うまか陶　（「化粧がけ」について）
http://www.umakato.jp/column_ceramic/a_vol11.html
・wikipedia 連濁
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendaku

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Miyako Jofu ( 宮古上布 )

miyako

( image from : http://kimono-hiroba.jp/image/okinawaten/miyako.html )

Miyako Jofu in general

Miyako Island（宮古島） is located 326km south-west of main island Okinawa. 40 thousand people resides there nowadays.
The “Miyako jofu（宮古上布）” implies high-quality plain-woven hemp cloth that have been developed throughout the history of Miyako Island. Contemporaly, “Miyako Jofu” becomes one of the qualified traditional hemp clothes in Japanese archipelago.
There are regional differences among the Okinawan traditional hemp cloths. Compared to the Yaeyama Jofu（about 75km south-west of Miyako Island, 八重山上布）which dyed with red rusted color, “Miyako Jofus” are dyed with indigo and are more dark blue color.
It is woven by ramie (芋麻). The comfort and coolness of “Miyako Jofu” made by ramie were highly valued in the summer time. It has once said that people would never desire to have other outfits once you dressed with “Miyako jofu”.
The origin of the “Miyako Jofu” was believed to be around 16th century when Ryukyu kingdom had tributary system with Chinese Min Dynasty. One of the Islander, Shimoji　(下地) shipwrecked before he reached to the annual greeting to the King of Ryukyu. After lost at the sea, he eventually arrived at coast of China. Fortunately, he found the tributary ships to go home with. On the way back to Okinawa, the ship encountered devastating hurricanes, and without Shimoji’s nimble work, the ship would have wrecked again. All the passengers of tributaries made their home. The King was surprised to hear that news, and happily gave him entitled position in the Kingdom. After this incidents, his wife, Inaishi (稲石) wanted to show appreciation to the King in return. Inaishiin waved clothes with most delicate manner. It was beautiful blown color with stripe. The king was fully surprised again when he wore it. This Jofu was believed to be the origin of “Miyako Jofu”.

Under the strict feudal controls

As scholar discussed, the development of “Miyako Jofu（宮古上布）” would have other destiny if feudal controls of Satsuma, one of the strong feudal domain of Tokugawa Bakufu did not happened in the past.
After main islands of Okinawa invaded by Satusma, the Miyako Islanders also went under their influences. As other Okinawan people, Miyako Islander also experienced two governmental controls.
Especially, the poll taxes to Miyako Islanders are crucial at that time. Because of its high quality, Satsuma requested “Miyako jofu” as to pay. The record shows that out of 3367 koku (app 60,000kg, 1 koku石=app 180L), the 2216 Koku were from cloth fabric including the “Miyako Jofu” Because of this unreasonable demand, all females under 15 to 50 had to joins yarn-making (製糸), dyeing (染色), and weaving (製織) in the villages.
The dedication of the taxes took place on March each year. After the strict inspection by Satsuma’s bureaucrat, only the ones that reached to the quality that Satsuma requested were accepted. People broke down crying at the moment of the judge. The textile dedicated to the high nobles, the skilled islanders were chosen by villagers and forced to wave every day from morning until night.
Among the Okinawans, the colorful outfits are more favored. In contrast, Satsuma requested darker color, indigo dyed “Miyako jofu” because Satsuma exports to the main land where indigo is more favored.
Thus, most elegant textiles in Okinawan Island has undergone these sorrowful histories. Even though the end of Edo Bakufu era and new modernized Meiji government took place, this poll tax had lasted for 36 years after.

Miyako Jofu as a Textile

1). Ramie Fabric（原材料, 芋麻）

The basic material, yarn for “Miyako jofu” is ramie, one of the hemp. Ramies plants are cultivated throughout the Miyako Island. They are collected 4-5 times a year. Within 30-40 days they grow. When they become 1.5m in height, they are cut down. After collection from the field, they are washed with abalones shells. With abalone shells, fibers can be smoothly collected. After collection of fibers of ramie, they are dried in the shade.

2). Spinning（糸績み）

Dried fibers are torn with nails and fingers until they get to the thickness of hairs. Spining ramie fibers into thread are all done by hand. Warps（経糸） are made of 2 yarns. Wefts（横糸）are made of one yarn. Spun yeans are twisted by spinning wheels. After wefts are made, warping of warps are done (warping is the process that winding the warps by required length, density, and order).

3). Design and Kasurijime（図案と絣締め）

The basic design are drawn down to the graphic paper. The first, the whole design of “Miyako jofu” is decided. Since the whole design is made of small patterns or partial design. The small “Miyako jofu” made up of 6 repetition of a part as well as 121 in the largest ones.
After designs are decided, the warped yarns are washed by bleach. After bleaching and drying, the warped yarns are tightly woven. The method is called Kasurishime（絣締め）. The purpose is to protect portion of yarns. To do so, the portion of yarns would not be dyed in the next process.

4). Dyeing（染色）

The Dyeing by Indigo. The basic material is Ryukyu indigo. The caustic soda, awamori (Okinawan distilled sprit), brown sugars are added. Ferment for a week or two. After fermentation, the color of dye become greenish. Dyed and dried under sunshine for a day. Repeated dyeing 15-16 times.

5). Weaving（製織）

After dyeing and drying, the yarns are woven crosswise. Ship shaped shuttle（杼） is used to weave warps（経糸）and Wefts（横糸）. Even skilled worker can weave 20-30 cm a day. The whole roll can be made in about 3-4 months.

6). Washing and inspection (洗濯加工と検査)

Washed off the dirt in the hot boiled water. After dried, strengthen the fabric by wooden hammer 20,000-25,000 times. After inspection, the roll of “Miyako jofu”, one of the four traditional high quality hemp clothes in Japan archipelago would be in the markets.

References

田中俊雄、田中玲子（1976）『沖縄織物の研究』。紫紅社。
宮古島市教育委員会、地域伝統文化伝承事業編『宮古上布－その手芸－』宮古上布保持団体。
宮古織物事業協同組合、作業工程（http://miyako-joufu.com/）

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Hagi Ware

When we think about the most basic function of bowls, what would come up on our minds first? It must be being able to hold food or liquid perfectly without any leaks. Interestingly, Hagi Ware does not have the right qualification for it. It sounds like Hagi Ware is not perfect pottery if you only focus on this function, but you will see why it has been loved by many people throughout this article.

History of Hagi Ware

Hagi Ware (萩焼) is from Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture located in the southwest side of Japan. It is considered that Hagi Ware was started about 400 years ago. Before Hagi Ware created, the tea ceremony has thrived incredibly, and ceramics and pottery for that were in great demand. The origin was that Terumoto Mouri, a federal lord, brought potters from Korea and built kilns in Matsumoto, Hagi region. These potters got a lot of support from a federal clan, and the kilns became exclusive to it. In Matsumoto, Kyusetsu Miwa, a potter, also built kilns in 1661. The kilns were also belonging to the federal clan as well. As you can see from those kilns, Hagi Ware in this period got a strong backup in this age, and Hagi Ware succeeded to achieve high productivity and improve the quality. Until the 19th century, Hagi Ware thrived on producing a lot of variety of pottery, not to mention the pottery for the tea ceremony. With modernization in Japan, which started in 1868, both kilns under private management and kilns run by companies developed a lot by improving productivity. In Taisho Period (ca. 1920-1925), potters focused more on traditional technique and ingredients, and pottery for tea became the main stream of Hagi Ware again. Since 1940s, Hagi Ware has been attracting a lot of attention because many artists create a lot of masterpieces as one of the way to show their art. History and artistry of Hagi Ware are proven especially by three potters. Two potters of Hagi Ware are recognized as Japanese Living National Treasure, and a potter was officially commended for contributing to Japanese culture.

Features of Hagi Ware: Clay

Generally, Hagi Ware is very simple because it hardly has any decorations or painting on its surface, moreover, it focuses on utilizing the nature feel of clay. Especially experts in tea ceremony are fond of this feeling of clay, and they regard it as important point when they appreciate Hagi Ware. The question then arises: what does make the special taste? The taste is created by the combination of clay, the way to glaze, lines drew with pallets or brushes, and the heat of fire. As you see, characteristics of Hagi Ware are made by simple and plane methods, but in other words, the work is truly genuine work with a lot of experience. Any deceptions won’t work on it. The touch of Hagi Ware is very soft and gives us feel warmth. These impressions are also brought by the feature of clay which is used. The clay itself is quite soft and has the nature that it does not shrink a lot even after a baking process. The core factor of the texture of Hagi Ware is created by blending some kinds of clay. Basically, the mixture is made with three types of clay. Firstly, the base clay of Hagi Ware is called ‘Daidou clay (Daidou-tsuchi: tsuchi means clay or soil in Japanese)’, and most of basic features of Hagi Ware are brought by the properties of this clay. One of its properties is the high plasticity, and that is the reason Daidou clay is very suitable for the foundation. The color is light gray color, because it contains relatively small amount of iron. The second clay is Mitake clay ‘(Mitake-tsuchi)’, also called Mitakeyama clay. This is white-color sandy clay and always mixed with Daidou clay to make the viscosity of Daidou clay moderate. Besides that, Mitake clay is able to heighten the resistance to fire of Hagi Ware. Third clay is ‘Mishima clay (Mishima-tsuchi)’, which is dark red color clay containing a lot of iron. This clay is extracted from Mishima Islands that are located in the Sea of Japan (45 kilometers away from coastlines). The use of this clay heightens the feeling of clay and enhances the color of other clays. Mishima clay is not only mixed with other clay like Daidou clay and Mitake clay do, but also it is used at the part of decorations. These three clay are carefully blended to make the perfect balance and also to create the synergy between the clay and glaze. Also, these clay do not just only affect on the features or feeling of Hagi Ware, but also they play an important role in creating beautiful colors of pottery. When a pottery is made to focus to show the beauty of Daidou clay, it becomes flesh color or loquat color (soft light orange color). On the other hand, it becomes brown or grayish blue when potters focus on Mishima clay. White color Hagi Ware is also possible by adding ash glaze. These colors are the main stream of Hagi Ware, and Hagi Ware has relatively small color variety. Incidentally, besides these three clay, other clay from local, such as Matsumoto or Fukawai, are also sometimes used, and the choice depends on idea or concepts potters have.

Features of Hagi Ware: Water Absorbency – Nanabake

Another outstanding and interesting feature of Hagi Ware is high water absorbency. As mentioned at the beginning, Hagi Ware is not perfect if we expect it not to have any leaks. The reasons why it has water absorbency are firstly because the clay is quite coarse. Besides that, the clay does not shrink a lot after the bake. Therefore, soil particles are big and have a lot of gap between each other, so that water can go through the gap. Another reason is because Hagi Ware has a lot of cracks on the surface. The cracks are made since clay and glaze have different shrinkage. The difference between the two materials makes the cracks, and the cracks are the points that water goes through. As we use Hagi Ware long time, tea incrustation fills the cracks, and water cannot penetrate through the pottery easily anymore. At the same time, the tea incrustation changes the color of pottery too. These changes are call ‘Nanabake’, which means seven transformations in Japan. It might feel that it is not useful to have pottery with high water absorbency at first. However, the feature gets interesting and fascinating more and more as you use it since you see and feel transformations of pottery every time you use. The change is as if the pottery grew up to respond your care or love. How it changes is totally depends on you. The beauty of Hagi Ware is not only made by experienced potters with great technique, but also made by people who use. In other words, Hagi Ware cannot be perfect until you use it, and it becomes literally ‘your’ Hagi Ware. This is the reason why Hagi Ware has a lot of devotees.

References

・日本セラミックス協会
http://www.ceramic.or.jp/museum/yakimono/contents/hagi/sanchi_hagi.html
・萩陶芸家協会
http://hagi-tougei.jp/hagiyaki_about/
・萩焼会館
http://www.hagiyaki-kaikan.com/index.html

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Shigaraki Ware

The Outline of Shigaraki Ware

Shigaraki Ware (信楽焼) is a traditional pottery and the proud of Shiga Prefecture. It was known as a ceramic for tea ceremony, but now it has a wide variety of kinds, for example, braziers, umbrella stands, not to mention bowls and plates. It usually has warm colors, like flesh color, soft pink and reddish brown, and its surface is rough to the touch due to the nature of local clay. Shigaraki Ware has 1250 years of history, and its kilns have been recognized as one of six old Japanese potteries called Rokkoyo. As its name suggests, Shigaraki Ware is from Shigaraki region. The region is highlands with full of nature, and it is renowned as the birthplace of ceramic tanuki (raccoon dog) figures. Since the tanuki ornaments have friendly yet unique looks, such as a big belly, big eyes, and a big sedge hat, the figures are loved by many people and have become synonymous with Shigaraki region and Shigaraki Ware. The features and history of Shigaraki Ware are closely related to the characteristics of this region. It is no exaggeration to say that Shigaraki area makes present Shigaraki Ware’s achievement possible.

Features of Shigaraki Ware: 1. Clay

Shigaraki Ware has many interesting and unique features. To begin with, let us take a close look at the crucial materials of Shigaraki Ware – clay. Shigaraki Ware is made of a mixture of coarse clay soils and soil that contain carbonized chips of wood. Because of the chips, the mixture of clay becomes elastic and easy to shape it into big dishes and thick bowls. Besides that, the chips give pottery high resistance to fire. Since the clay does not contain a lot of iron, the pottery has faint and soft color. (There is also another type of Shigaraki Ware, which is called ‘Kuro Shigaraki’. This type looks blackish brown as it is made of clay contains a lot of iron. In this article, however, only major type of Shigaraki Ware is focused.) As it mentioned before, these clay is from Shigaraki region. The region has been famous for its high quality soil, and the soil contains a lot of chips of plagioclases (a type of rocks). However, potters do not elutriate the soil to make it smoother; rather, they make use of plagioclases. Plagioclases have properties that it melts at a high temperature, so that the surface of the pottery has many little milk-white dots due to the melted plagioclases. As a result, the numerous white dots became one of the outstanding features of Shigaraki Ware.

Features of Shigaraki Ware: 2. Colors

Other unique features are brought by baking processes. Firstly, the color of Shigaraki Ware changed dramatically. Before baking, pottery have just clay color (usually creamy white), but it changed to flesh color or reddish brown after firing. These colors are called ‘Hiiro’, which means fire colors. Humidity and temperature affect on the tone of the beautiful faint red color. Incidentally, this tone-change effect is sometimes difficult to control, and colors that only happen in specific kilns are called ‘Kama-aji’. Kama is kilns and aji is taste in Japanese, and in this case, the word Kama aji means ‘the tasteful color only done by specific kilns’. Besides the warm color, Hiiro, Shigaraki Ware has dark-colored parts on its surface. This is the second feature, and is called ‘Koge (means scorching)’. In kilns, ash from firewood piles up during and after baking. When potters put pottery in the kilns, the bottom of pottery is covered by the ash, and the covered part changes the color to blackish brown. Especially in tea ceremonies, pottery with Koge is valued very highly.

Features of Shigaraki Ware: 3. Glaze

Third and last feature is its beautiful glaze. There are two types of glaze that are famous in Shigaraki Ware, and they are ‘Shizen-yu / Vidro-yu’ and ‘Namako-yu’. The first glaze – Shizen-yu / Vidro-yu is actually different form usual glaze, because it happens spontaneously in kilns. This special type of glaze happens when plagioclases and ash from firewood get mixed and melt together on the surface of pottery. The two materials become glassy glaze and turn to be beautiful greenish blue or yellowish green. Since the glaze (yu: Japanese) happens spontaneously (Shizen: Japanese) and has glassy (Vidro: a loan word from Portuguese) feature, it is called Shizen-yu or Vidro-yu. The second glaze – Namako-yu means sea-cucumber-color glaze in Japanese. The glaze is put twice on pottery to make beautiful blue color. Since this glaze is used for Shigaraki braziers, which account for the majority of production of braziers in Japan, it became typical of Shigaraki Ware.

History of Shigaraki Region and Shigaraki Ware

It was briefly mentioned in the beginning that Shigaraki region has been playing an important part in present Shigaraki Ware’s success. In this paragraph, let us see the history of Shigaraki Ware while taking a close look at Shigaraki region. Shigaraki area is located in the middle of Kinki region (the southern-central region of Japan). Kinki region got a lot of influence from Korea, and it has been famous as the thriving center of Japanese culture. In the flourishing region, Shigaraki area is connected to major streets and favored with good soil that is suitable for pottery. Because of these three good points of the area, an emperor considered the area as one of the candidate sites for building the Imperial Palace before. Incidentally, the present great image of Buddha in Nara was planned to build in Shigaraki region.

It is considered that the beginning of Shigaraki Ware is in 742. In this year, the then emperor, Emperor Shomu, commenced building Shigaraki Palace as a part of project to place a capital in present Shiga Prefecture, and roof tiles of Shigaraki Palace was made with Shigaraki Ware. It was supposed that Shigaraki Ware would steadily develop after this construction, but a big fire broke out in the capital and burned everything up. Until the last part of the Muromachi period (ca. 1450-), Shigaraki Ware did not make remarkable progress, but its technique was barely inherited by farmers. After the latter part of the period, however, Shigaraki Ware attracted a lot of attention in the tea ceremony until the end of Azuchi-Momoyama period (- ca. 1600). The reason is because Juko Murata, the originator of ‘Wabi-cha’, found the core thought of Wabi-cha in Shigaraki Ware and preached it to his pupils. Wabi-cha is a style of Japanese tea ceremony and its core concept is austere refinement called ‘Wabi’. Sen no Rikyu, a world-famous tea master, also associated with this style.

In Edo period (ca. 1600-1870), pottery related to tea ceremony was still popular, and bowls and plates were also baked for daily use. Even though Shigaraki Ware started to show its development, kilns of it were still relatively small. It was Meiji period (ca. 1870-1910) that the kilns became as big as present large kilns. Besides that, glaze was improved and production of braziers prospered in this era. From Taisho period to Showa period (ca. 1910-1925), ceramic ornaments and decorations, such as garden lanterns prospered. In Showa period (ca. 1925-1990), Namako-yu (see the last paragraph) got invented, and pottery with hand-painted design started to produce for the first time. As can be seen from the history of pottery in Shigaraki, Shigaraki Ware has been always adjusting itself to the needs of each period and looking for opportunities to get further achievements. It is quite rare that pottery keeps innovating new techniques, extending its variety, and changing for the demand in such a long span – 1250 years. These continuous effort and passion of potters make Shigaraki Ware possible to be recognized as one of Japanese traditional crafts.

References

・日本セラミックス協会
http://www.ceramic.or.jp/museum/yakimono/contents/shigaraki/sanchi_shigaraki.html
・信楽陶器工業協同組合
http://www.shigaraki.ne.jp/index.html
・やきもの総合サイト
http://www.yakimono.or.jp/sanchi/shigarakiyaki

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Edo Kimekomi Ningyo

Throughout the history of mankind, what represents human beings has attracted people; one of such pieces is a doll. Edo Kimekomi Ningyo is a kind of dolls Japanese artisans make by hand.

Introduction

Like that of other countries, the Japanese history of dolls starts as an artifice to use in rituals. As the time went by, however, such usages of dolls have gone and begun to be loved as a daily article or toy. The completion of the culture of Japanese dolls can be seen in the Edo era, in which Edo Kimekomi Ningyo was born; therefore, Edo Kimekomi Ningyo can be said to be one of the original dolls in the Japanese history.

As you may know, Edo means the old name of Tokyo, and Ningyo means “doll” in Japanese. So, what is “Kimekomi”? Kimekomi’s original form is a verb, “Kimekomu”, which means, “Fit something into something else perfectly”. When you watch old Edo Kimekomi Ningyo, you will notice that their wearing is put into a gap on the “skin” of the doll. Yes, this explains: their wearing is fitted perfectly into the skin; therefore, they are called “Edo Kimekomi Ningyo”.

The origin of Edo Kimekomi Ningyo

Edo Kimekomi Ningyo was born during 1736 to 1741, in Kyoto. A man, Tadashige Takahashi, made dolls during work breaks then. The material was willow, which was also material for articles to use in festivals. Tadashige was a subordinate of a shinto priest, so he got some cloth of the uniform of shinto priests to make his dolls “wear” it. As the willow was growing up around the river named “Kamo-gawa”, the early days of Edo Kimekomi Ningyo saw that they are called “Yanagi Ningyo”, “Kamo Ningyo” or “Kamo-gawa Ningyo”.

In the middle of the Edo era, this skill came down to Edo, the current Tokyo, and it was mixed up with many other factors to be Edo Kimekomi Ningyo. After the movement, the doll creators in Kyoto disappeared and Tokyo became the main area of the culture.

How to make Edo Kimekomi Ningyo

The first Edo Kimekomi Ningyo (or Kamo Ningyo) was made by carving willow, but the later ones were also made by molding, which was conduce to the success of mass production of Edo Kimekomi Ningyo. Having said that, of course, the mold is made by the masters of Japanese dolls, so the value of Edo Kimekomi Ningyo is still intact.

The material of dolls in case of using such molds is called “Toso”, which is a kind of clay made from sawdust of paulownia and shofu-nori (wheat starch paste). This material is so light and durable. Thus, Edo Kimekomi Ningyo is easy to carry and life-lasting.

Of course, after molding the shape, the artisans paint some colors on the surface. Here, Kimekomi is done. They dress the doll in great wearing in the same way as it was done to the first Edo Kimekomi Ningyo with the help of some kinds of glue. So, you can say that what differentiates Edo Kimekomi Ningyo from other dolls is the way they are dressed. If their dress is fixed on the surface, it may well be Edo Kimekomi Ningyo.

This tells another thing: you can “unclothe” the dolls. (If you actually do that, it will require the historical technique to put the dress on them again, though; it’s not recommended.) This means that the shape of the body is the most important part for Edo Kimekomi Ningyo. When you watch Edo Kimekomi Ningyo, it’s more enjoyable to look at the body shape of the doll, which reflects the skill of the creator.

How to choose your favorite Edo Kimekomi Ningyo?

When you browse Edo Kimekomi Ningyo, you may well be surprised at the number of them. Thanks to mold, there are many dolls commercially available now, but how should we choose one from them?

Although mold is used, the last phase to finish the doll is mainly by hand, including painting and “Kimekomi”. Therefore, each of the dolls has different faces. Some may look smiling, and others may motherly. So, the first spot to look at when purchasing a doll is its face. Let’s choose your favorite one, “face to face”.

Of course, what they are wearing is also important. When you find their attire nice, that one can be your choice.

Other point to watch carefully is the story of the doll. As mentioned above, the completion of the culture of Japanese dolls is met in the Edo era, and this is because the era saw many cultures and entertainment were embedded into expression of creation of dolls. Therefore, the title (or caption) of dolls became much more “poetic” in the later era of Japan.

So, when you feel something special in a piece of Edo Kimekomi Ningyo, you should ask what the caption of the work and the meaning. If it’s really special, the doll must have its own name and story.

The current Edo Kimekomi Ningyo

Now, Edo Kimekomi Ningyo is not always a doll. The shape is sometimes a Japanese ball, mari, or an animal of Oriental Zodiac. For the ones of human shape, on the other hand, hina-dolls (which is traditional dolls to display on March 3, Hina-matsuri, in Japan) and Seven Deities of Good Fortune (which are 7 deities that Japanese people believe in as the herald of good fortune) are popular. Such dolls are also embodiment of Japanese culture, so they are perfect as the gift for your friends.

In addition to these commercial products, some people still make Edo Kimekomi Ningyo by themselves; they make their original and unique doll as an artist. One of such artists say that the artisans like him will disappear soon, for the younger manufacturers do the job separately without enough practice. This man also makes dolls for commercial availability but does all the procedures by himself, which add the taste of uniqueness to the products.

“We are striving to make the “one-of-a-kind” masterpiece, whose most important part is the idea. It’s therefore difficult and fun,” says he.

References

http://www.edokimekomi.jp/edokimekomi.html
http://www.dentoukougei.jp/tokyo/04.html

新版 東京の職人―技と誇りを伝える百人の匠たち
日本伝統工芸 鑑賞の手引
【日英対訳】日本の歴史100　100 Things on Japanese History

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Tobe Ware

The Features of Tobe Ware

Tobe Ware (砥部焼) is one of traditional Japanese porcelain. It is from Tobe City, Ehime Prefecture, and the manufacture of ceramic ware has been prospered in this district since around the 6th century. Since Tobe area forms a natural basin, it has a large base of a mountain and plenty of pine trees, which means, it is an ideal building site for kilns and rich in fuel. Tobe Ware makes full use of local rocks, and the material gives Tobe Ware high durability. Besides this characteristic, it has moderate thickness and beautifully simplified shape without too much decoration.

The Decoration of Tobe Ware

Its decoration is simple and categorized into roughly two kinds. One is called Kotobe-mono, which means ‘old Tobe style’. It was common from the early stages of its manufacture to the early Meiji period (- ca. 1890). The style is quite humble since only one color (usually dark brown) is used for the painting, and the painting itself is simplified very well. Patterns that were favorites with people are creatures that are close to Japanese life style, such as pine trees, bamboos, Japanese plum (ume) trees, wisteria flowers, rice plants, sparrows, and fishes. Incidentally, all of patterns are also sort of symbols of the peaceful countryside-life in Japan. In other words, they are connected to the image of nature and peace, and the Japanese see the beauty of nature throughout these creatures. The reason why Kotobe-mono spread well among the people is not only because of its high durability, but also because these patterns were preferred. Kotobe-mono succeeded in presenting the symbols in the beautifully simplified way. The second kind of Tobe Ware’s decoration is called Gosu-e, which means ‘Gosu picture’. The motif of Gosu-e is also nature like the one of Kotobe-mono. The feature of this style is a beautiful deep blue color painting. Since the earthenware itself has a soft white color, the deep blue lines make a stunning contrast on it. Each color makes the other color purity stand out. There are three designs that are famous in Gosu-e. The first one is Karakusa-mon (an arabesque design), which has a lot of energy. The second motif is called Taiyo-mon (a design of the sun), and it is the combination of the sun and cranes. The last one is Nazuna-mon (a design of shepherd’s purse). The elegant curve is a distinctive characteristic of this design.
These painting are almost always painted by hand after the first baking without glaze. After the painting part, ceramists glaze them and fire them completely. In the first baking process, porcelain is fired with 900 to 950 degrees centigrade (°C) for eight to ten hours. Compared to it, the main baking process takes 15 to 24 hours with around 1300 degrees centigrade.

The History of Tobe Ware

As mentioned earlier, Tobe region has been famous as an ideal place for baking porcelain, but how exactly did Tobe Ware achieve the nowadays success? Were there any difficulties even though the location was perfect? In this section, we take a time travel to the beginning of Tobe Ware, and follow the progress of it. Interestingly, as we follow, we can even feel the strong passion of a ceramist who devoted his life to the success of Tobe Ware. But first, let us take a close look at the local rock, which became the crucial ingredient of Tobe Ware.
Tobe area has been famous as the good place to quarry whetstones since Nara•Heian era (ca. 700-1180). Nowadays Tobe area belongs to Ehime Prefecture, but until the late 19th century, the region of today Ehime Prefecture was called as Iyo Province. Since then, whetstones from Tobe region were called as Iyoto (Iyo – toishi: means whetstones in Japanese), and its quality was recognized in many other regions. Moreover, Iyoto was used for imaging the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, and this is one of the best and honored ways to be approved its quality in Japan. In Edo period (ca. 1600-1850), the Ōzu Domain governed Tobe area. Needless to say, the Ōzu Domain put a lot of effort on quarrying Iyoto. As mentioned before, Tobe Ware is made of whetstones, but strictly speaking, the scrap when whetstones are quarry is the core ingredient. However, at the early stages of quarrying whetstones, people did not have any idea that whetstones could be used for porcelain; furthermore, the scrap whetstone was just the source of the Ōzu Domain’s distress since the dispose of scrap whetstone was hard labor. The Ōzu Domain pressed many villagers into duty for the disposal, but the villagers could not stand the extreme hard labor for long time. In the end, it brought about serious antagonism between villagers and the Ōzu Domain. However, a proposal given by a wholesale dealer changed the whole situation. Jihey Izumiya, who undertook exclusive sale of whetstones, got to know that whetstones were used for making porcelain in other regions, and advised the Ōzu Domain to try to produce porcelain with scrap whetstones instead. It was a truly perfect idea for the Ōzu Domain since it solves the disposal problem while making profits. To realize the idea, the Ōzu Domain asked a wealthy farmer to invest in a project, hired ceramists from other regions, and built new kilns. Moreover, the Ōzu Domain appointed a ceramist called Josuke Sugino as a head of the project. He is the person who devoted his life for Tobe Ware to lead it to remarkable success.
Soon after he and the other ceramists started to work on the project, they faced a big difficulty – the porcelain got big cracks on surface after the main baking process. This problem did not solved no matter how many times they tried or changed their methods. The all ceramists who were hired from other regions gave up trying and went back their home villages but not Josuke. He kept baking to find the solution to the big cracks all alone, but he run out of firewood. He became half-crazed and put pillars and tatami mats from his house into the fire. Fortunately, a ceramist from Chikuzen Province (located in the west side of Iyo Province) saw Josuke’s struggle and realized that the reason of the big cracks was due to unsuitable glaze. Josuke immediately visited Chikuzen Province and looked for proper glaze for Tobe Ware. After repeated trial and error, he finally achieved to bake porcelain without any cracks. It took about two years since he started the project. Even after the achievement, he did not stop develop the technique. Furthermore, he found a suitable material for glaze inside of Iyo Province, so that he did not have to import glaze from Chikuzen Province. He succeeded to stabilize the production of Tobe Ware in the end. In praise of his achievements, a monument was built in present Tobe City later.
In 1818, high quality stones called Kawanobori Touseki were found, and ceramists were able to produce whiter porcelain with the stones. Until this discovery, Tobe Ware was slightly grayish white color because of whetstones. In 1893, Tobe Ware won the first prize in The World’s Columbian Exposition (The Chicago World’s Fair), and it became a world-famous porcelain. In Taisho Period (ca. 1910-1920), about 70 percent of production was imported to other countries to meet the demand for Tobe Ware under the influence of the Expo. Tobe Ware temporally faced a crisis because of a depression, but people started to take a fresh look at it and appreciated the beauty of handcrafted porcelain after World War Two. In 1976, Tobe Ware was finally recognized as one of Japanese traditional crafts.

Today’s Tobe Ware

Nowadays, young ceramists and female ceramists play active parts in the production. Not only they have inherited traditional techniques, but also they grope for new styles of Tobe Ware by introducing unique patterns or color that are not tied to tradition. Their novel approach to Tobe Ware succeeded to harmonize tradition with modern art in Tobe Ware, and now that is the attractiveness of it. Tobe Ware will keep attracting considerate attention and increasing the number of it.

References

・日本セラミックス協会
http://www.ceramic.or.jp/museum/yakimono/contents/tobe/sanchi_tobe.html
・砥部町　観光協会
http://www.tobe-kanko.jp/product/tobeyaki/tobeyaki.html
・砥部焼　協同組合
http://www.tobeyaki.org/top.html
・愛媛県　生涯学習センター (杉野丈助について)
http://www.i-manabi.jp/pdf/museum/095.pdf

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Ryukyu Bingata

1. What is the “Ryukyu Bingata”?

The “Ryukyu Bingata (琉球の紅型)” is the dyed textiles（染物）often worn by noble classes in the late period of Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa. They were worn both in the females and the males (before adolescence). It is now recognized as one of the representatives of Japanese traditional dyed textiles（染物）or kimono, such as Kyo-Yuzen（京友禅), Kaga-Yuzen (加賀友禅), Edo-Komon (江戸小紋).
One of the characteristics that distinguishes “Ryukyu Bingata (琉球の紅型)” is the usage of a primary color (原色), such as bright yellow, rose red. Those are not observed in the kimono of main land of Japanese archipelago. The scholars have suggested that the reason of the high occurrence of yellow might relate to the close political relationships among Ryukyu Kingdom（琉球) and Chinese Empire（中国王朝) where the yellow was believed to be a color of superior power.
Dyeing of “Ryukyu Bingata (琉球の紅型)” is done by stencils(型付). Although stencils dyeing can be seen throughout the Japan those days, several designs originate to the topical regions are very unique, such as a hibiscus, okinawan lion, and banana.

2. History

The origin of “Ryukyu Bingata (琉球の紅型) “ is believed to be the prior to Ryukyu Kingdom, but it is still under the discussion. The time which “Ryukyu Bingata (琉球の紅型)” flourished in the kingdom was around the late period of Ryukyu kingdom around 18-19th when the invasion by Satsuma（薩摩）, one of the strong referral federal domains of Edo Bakufu, happened. By that time the new manufacturing techniques were introduced to the Ryukyu Kingdom（琉球), and then this flourishment of “Ryukyu Bingata (琉球の紅型)” lasted until the abolition of Ryukyu kingdom alongside the Meiji Restoration.
The “Ryukyu Bingata (琉球の紅型)” were worn not only at the time of a court dance（宮廷舞踊）for the welcoming party of Chinese envoys （冊封使）, but also it has been worn for purpose of divine protection（神のご加護）from Okinawan monstrous creatures such as Kijimuna（キジムナー）.

3. The manufacture of “Ryukyu Bingata”

1). texture (下地づくり)
The stencils（型付） are placed on the cloth fabric, and then the whole cloth fabric is dyed by the glue. The glue is the mixture of glutinous rice, rice bran, and preservatives (lime). The places where stencils are covered would not be covered by this glue（糊付け）. The purpose of gluing is to have dyeing line exactly same as stencils.
After placing the glue and peeling the stencils, the cloth fabric are stretched by several bamboo stick stretcher（伸子）. Then the mung bean milk（豆汁）are dyed for avoiding the dye to spread for the next step.

2). Arrangement of colors（配色)
The next step after preparing cloth fabric will be dyeing arrangement of colors. Two brush are used. One is for a paintbrush used for coloring, and other is for a stenciling（刷り込む）. Dyeing must be begun from brighter colors such as red and yellow to the darkish colors such as gray and blue.

3). Finishing（仕上げ）
After dyeing the portion of cloth fabric covered by brushes, the glue will be washed. After it dried, it will be “Ryukyu Bingata (琉球の紅型)” called shiroji-gata which means most of the cloth fabric has not dyed and white（白地型）. When it needed to be yellow dyeing for empty space of the cloth fabric, it requires next step. Contrary to the dyeing stenciled portion, the dyeing the empty will be done by gluing that stenciled portion, so that stenciled portion dyed already will be protected and empty space of cloth fabric will be dyed again（下地塗り）.

4. At the time of Ryukyu Kingdom

Compare to the present manufacturing of “Ryukyu Bingata”, the hereditary way of exclusive production (世襲) was more common at that time. It consisted one of the governmental branches, and craftsmen’s salary also came from Ryukyu Kingdom. Sometimes new designs of stencils were introduced court painter （宮廷画家）and Ukiyo-e hired by Ryukyu kingdom. As a gift to the Chinese Empire（中国王朝) and Edo Bakufu, Japan, the production of those extorted textiles were dyed under many restrictions.

References

上村六郎（1982）『沖縄染色文化の研究』第一書房。
外間正幸、岩宮武二（1966）『日本の工芸　別巻　琉球』淡交新社。
富山弘基　大野力（1971）『沖縄の伝統染織』徳間書店。

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Tokyo ginki(東京銀器)

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What do you think of when it comes to precious metal? Maybe, the first comer is gold, and the second one silver. (Some people may well think of platinum, though.)

If you are looking for something like that, Edo-ginki is the perfect choice for you. Now, let’s delve into the beauty and history.

Introduction

Gin and ki are silver and shape in Japanese respectively, and Tokyo is Tokyo (as it is). Therefore, Tokyo-ginki means Tokyo-silver-works. Yes, they are the Japanese masterpieces made of silver.

It may sound strange that Japan has specialty in that area, for silverware seems something for nobles in Europe in the Middle Ages. However, the history of silver in Japan can trace back to even the year 916 or possibly more and Japan was one of the biggest producing countries of silver. Tokyo-ginki is such a historical artifact.

What’s Tokyo-ginki?

In the Edo era of Japan, which is during 1603 to 1868, the artisans who dealt with silver were called “Shirogane-shi (silver master or master of silver, in English).

Their pieces were loved by many feudal lords in Japan. Many masterpieces were created then and many lords enjoyed the beauty. However, silver was popular not only in upper social class but also the other people. Historians have found that there was a law that bans wearing luxuries in 1789 in Japan, and this “luxuries” explicitly included silver; this suggests that silver was originally common among many people in the time.

In 1867, Paris held the world exhibition, where the Japanese silver works, such as silver teacups, were introduced. The Japanese silvers soon became sensational all over Europe for the unique and Japanesque shape, which was probably possible then because they made it manually. Tokyo-ginki and the technique to make them is a heritage from the era and now manufactured mainly in Tokyo, which used to be called Edo.

How to make Tokyo-ginki?

There are mainly 3 inherited methods to make Tokyo-ginki: The first one is Tan-kin, which is shaping by hitting silver. They hammer out the material and then turn the flattened silver into a particular shape, so the base of the piece becomes thin but the edge tends to be thick; the next one is Cho-kin, which is engraving and putting together with other metal. This way allows artisans to put many patterns on the surface, which the Europe people in the history loved (and probably still love); and the third one is Kiri-bame, which is making a slot or cut line and attaching the part of other metal into there by brazing. Of course, these 3 methods are combined to make one silver piece, like accessory and an art object, but the base is Tan-kin.

Hammering silver into a bowl takes 1 day, and if a teapot, it takes 3 days. One artisan says that making a fine teapot out of silver is the mere start as a professional silver master.

Of course, when it comes to hammering out, the hammer they use is really important. The real master of silver can tell if the hammer is suitable for the silver or not just by listening to the hitting sound.

Secret of the shine

Tokyo-ginki is really famous for the shine, which lasts very long. Why is it everlasting? Actually, there is a qualification for silver to be the material of Tokyo-ginki; it should be 92.5 % purity.

The Japan Mint classifies silver into 5 grades, 100% purity, 95%, 92.5%, 90% and 80%. The class of Tokyo-ginki is at least the third, but this never mars the elegance of this art; actually, silver is so soft that 100% purity is really fragile. Therefore, the artisan combined silver with other metal to make it much more durable.

On the other hand, ISO 9202 and JIS H6309 place 3 grades about quality of silver, 92.5% purity, 83.5% and 80%. In this criterion, the Tokyo-ginki belongs to the highest class.

By the way, even so, the silver of Tokyo-ginki sometimes tarnishes because of oxidization. In this case, put toothpaste on dry cotton and rub the surface lightly with it. After that, clean the surface with cloth, and the shine will come back.

How to distinguish Tokyo-ginki?

Now, you may worry about how to distinguish Tokyo-ginki from other silver works. Yes, it seems really difficult to tell them from the others without the profound knowledge — but don’t worry. Actually, the Association of Tokyo-ginki made an institution to certify Tokyo-ginki: the real Tokyo-ginki has a hallmark on it.

The hallmark is impressed to certify that the piece is authentic Tokyo-ginki and of high-quality silver, and this also helps many common people purchase safe silvers (bad metal affects your skin badly, you know).

Of course, due to this mark, Tokyo-ginki is getting more and more renowned as a brand. The more famous Tokyo-ginki becomes, the more trustworthy it gets. As getting more trustworthy, the brand will become more prestigious and so will the artisans.

The hallmark is also an embodiment of the pride of the artisans; every hallmark of Tokyo-ginki requires other mark of the artisan himself to clarify who made the piece. Therefore, they can’t make a lukewarm piece.

The current Tokyo-ginki

Nowadays, the popularity of Tokyo-ginki remains as it was in the Edo era and there are many articles like rings, pendants, cups, teapots, plates, vases and others. However, an artisan complains on the small number of customers. Why? He explains:

“It was after death of my father that I became finally a full-fledged artisan, and his pieces were all sold out while he was alive. Now, nothing of him is left, so I have to sell my own creations; however, one customer rarely comes twice. I know the reason. It’s because my father’s work was too perfect to break, so they don’t have to visit me for their new article. Tokyo-ginki is so durable…

“But now, there are brand new and modern pieces of Tokyo-ginki and I don’t want them to miss the new comers. I really wish they and you would visit me.”

References

http://www.syokuninkai.com/products/list.php?category_id=11
http://www.tokyoginki.or.jp/
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%8A%80

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