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TAKAYAMA'S LOCAL CRAFTS
The Ichii tree, which symbolizes the wooded Hida region, is an evergreen of the yew tree. It has been well-known through the years as a tree providing a superior quality wood.
The origin of the name of the tree, "Ichii," is from a story told concerning the Heiji Emperor. About 800 years ago, when the Emperor was presented with a scepterade of this wood at his coronation, he greatly appreciated its superior quality. The wood so out-shined other woods in use at the time that the Emperor gave the tree the name "Ichii," after the official bureaucratic status called "Sho-ichii."Wood carving in Hida has been developed by such people as the "Artisans of Hida," who were once involved in construction work in Kyoto, the capital city for a long period in Japanese history, and this carving has been used in temple architecture and festival float carving in the Hida region.
At the end of the Edo Period (1868), Sukenaga Matsuda established a unique craft of Ichii Ittobori Carving in "netsuke" by using the yew wood of this region. In Matsuda's carving, the material used is not colored so as to emphasize the unparalleled beauty of the yew grain. Matsuda's style has been handed down to the craftspeople of today, and the Hida region still produces uniquely elegant masterpieces based on the old traditions as well as new techniques. The ichii wood used for the pieces introduced here was obtained from 400 - to 500-year-old precious yew trees.
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Hida Shunkei Nuri (Lacquer Ware)
Hida Shunkei Lacquer ware's story follows Japan's history through the Edo, Meiji, Taisho, and Showa Eras, and now into the Heisei Period. In fact, the craft's origin can be traced back to Keicho Era, more then 400 years ago. At that time, Arishige Kanamori ruled Takayama as its lord; a devoutly religious man, Kanamori eagerly built Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples throughout Takayama.
One of Kanamori's chief carpenters, Kizaemon Takahashi, happened to notice the fascinating grain patterns on a section of wood he was cutting. Not wanting to lose the beauty of the wood, he made an elegant tray out of the board, preserving the delicate natural lines of the grain. He then presented the tray to Lord Kanamori's son, Shigechika. Shigechika Kanamori was also moved by the tray's beauty, so he ordered a local lacquerer, Sanemon Narita, to coat the wood with lacquer. Instead of using the usual red, black, or vermilion lacquers in vogue at the time, Narita chose a transparent lacquer, one that would enhance rather than obscure the grace in the lines of the grain.
Soon, other lacquerers began imitating the methods used by Narita, and Shunkei Nuri became a Takayama tradition. Today, the art of shunkei has endured and grown, and now we can still see pieces of lacquer ware that were made in the Edo Period, in addition to new pieces; other colors have also been developed, and we can find red-dyed lacquer ware, for example, that still retains the transparent ideal that was incorporated in Sanemon Narita's first piece.
=THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SHUNKEI LACQUER WARE=
-- Shunkei craftsmen take special care to make the best possible use of the wood's grain and then lacquer the piece with a transparent lacquer to preserve the lines' beauty.
-- Shunkei Lacquer ware is quite durable, and it is said that the lacquer ware will become more beautiful with use.
-- Although the original coating of transparent lacquer seems dark, it will become lighter and more transparent with use and age.
-- Shunkei materials include Japanese Cypress, sawara Cypress, and Japanese Horse Chestnut trees for the woods used; the lacquer ("urushi" in Japanese) is made with, among other materials, the sap from sumac trees.| TOP |
When Shigeyori Kanamori, Takayama's third dynastic lord, and his brother Shigechika brought the tea ceremony to Takayama, more than 350 years ago, they invited a famous potter from Kyoto to help them introduce the delicate art to the people of Takayama. The brothers built a kiln for Genjuro Takeya, and soon his elegant tea cups assured the tea ceremony's place in Takayama life. It is said, too, that Takeya's skillful work marked the true beginning of the art of pottery in the Hida area.
=SHIBUKUSA POTTERY=
Near the end of the Edo Period, in 1940, Takayama's Governor Fujinoshin Toyota invited a potter from Owari, in Aichi Prefecture, to the Hida area to make pottery. The potter was Ryuzo Toda, and soon his pottery received great acclaim. In a few years, a painter was invited from Kutani, Ishikawa Prefecture's famed pottery-producing village; he was commissioned to create designs in red paint on the pieces of pottery that Toda made. The combination was a beautiful success, and the pottery became known as Hida Red Painting or Hida Kutani. However, soon after this discovery, Takayama's Jinya (local government house) stopped supporting the craft when the Edo government collapsed with the Meiji Restoration )1868. Ryuzo Toda died shortly afterward, and what we know today as Shibukusa Pottery fell into decline.Four wealthy merchants from Takayama were determined not to let the art die. They sent a local potter to Arita, on the island of Kyushu, to study pottery; they also invited another potter from Kutani to work in Takayama. These two artists helped to revitalize the tradition of red-painted pottery, which was then called Shibukusa. Thus, one of Hida's three distinctive potteries was born.| TOP |
The history of Hida Sashiko dates back to the Edo Period. Contrary to popular belief, this style of sewing is not exclusive to the Hida area; throughout the last few centuries, this type of embroidery has been practiced in many districts in Japan. The element that these areas most often have in common, and the element that factors most prominently in the development of Hida Sashiko, is the long, cold snow-bound winter.
Long ago, cloth was hard to obtain in the Hida and other mountain areas; thus, many women learned to provide for themselves. They made thread from cotton or hemp wove these threads into cloth, and then hand-dyed the material. Yet, the resulting cloths were most often monochromatic: the workers had neither the time nor the skill to create brightly-colored, elaborate cloths. They fashioned these deep blues, pale yellows, and quiet browns into clothes and paid no attention to the muted colors. But during the long winters, activity centered inside the house and women spent much time sewing and mending, often experimenting with new methods. Originally, people would use thread to bind several pieces of fabric together to make dusting cloths, and younger women began adapting the material into more lively cloth by sewing simple designs into with the white thread.
As time went on, the homemakers began to develop patterns and to use these embroideries on other articles of clothing such as "hanten," or garments worn over kimonos in cold weather. Gradually, they began using the technique for uniforms, specifically those for judo and kendo, or on any item in which the embroidery's simple beauty of form could complement its function as a sturdy way to bind cloth. Thus, Hida Sashiko was born in Northern Japan; not really a traditional craft in the true sense of the words, instead it grew out of a simple sewing embellishment.
This style of embroidery nearly fell into disuse at the end of the Edo Period (1868), but soon after, the people's sewing skill was used on the wrapping materials of tradespeople and merchants, so the practice survived. Now, many of these magnificent cloths have outlived their makers.
The beauty of the embroidery would have remained virtually unnoticed, except by those who were still engaged in the work, had not Ms. Futatsuya stumbled upon it more than twenty years ago. In 1968, she found a "furoshiki" (a large cloth for bundling goods) with her father's shop's name sewed into it. Beginning with this pattern, she began to expand, creating various designs using only a ruler nor a cup as a guide. She also followed other patterns she had found, reflecting the homemaker's desire to add a simple, subtle beauty to their plain clothes by improvising with embroidery threads. Some of these patterns were intricate, but they all shared the rustic charm found in the first true "sashiko" articles. Ms. Futatsuya started a business, and the business' name has since become synonymous with the beautiful articles it sells -- "Hida Sashiko."
The patterns that were once sewn into the clothes and possessions of the Hida mountain people and farmers can now be found in a shop in the "Old Streets" section of Takayama. Today, Hida Sashiko imparts its beauty into clothes, "noren" (cloths hung in doorways), table runners, wallets, neckties, pillows, hand bags, "obi" (kimono belts), and even kimonos.
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