from Noto : May 2016

27/05/2016

Baby Spoons 4/4

Baby Spoons

When a devastating earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in 2007, a number of lacquerware workshops were badly affected. Stock was damaged, equipment was broken and in some cases workshops and storehouses collapsed. It was a depressing time as it only added to the troubles that lacquerware makers were already confronting.

Despite being one of Japan’s most prestigious lacquerware production centres, the demand for fine items of Wajima lacquerware had been falling for sometime. Partly fuelled by rising costs, the situation was exacerbated by cheap imports and hastened by the general change in life style of the people, a trend which had been gathering pace over the past twenty to thirty years.

Something had to be done. There needed to be a focus, something to bring people together to overcome the general predicament that the lacquerware makers found themselves in.

A group of twenty makers of all ages, abilities and skills banded together. What were they to do? After long discussions and much encouragement from Yuko Yokoyama—a dedicated supporter of Japan’s traditional crafts and lacquerware in particular—it was decided to hold and exhibition in Tokyo. What were they to make? Baby Spoons.

In Japan since the eighth-century it has been a custom to celebrate when a baby’s milk teeth come through, which is generally around one-hundred days after birth. Called Okui Hajime, this custom marks a mile stone in a baby’s life. The making of a baby spoon seemed appropriate, especially as it was not only a feeding spoon but also a symbol of new life, a new beginning and the beginning of something to look forward to.

Below are the last five of the twenty Baby Spoons which were made and exhibited in Tokyo and Europe. They are an expression of something that Wajima needed. A new hope.

Shin’ichi Shioyasu: Angle—Tenshi

It is a common utterance when first seeing a small baby. “What a little angle”. The angelic connotations are expressed to the full on Shin’ichi’s spoon. The colouring too is etherial and the addition of a heart-like motif at the base of the handle is perfectly in keeping. Even if the child does not remember, the parents are always going to recall those very first spoonfuls that were offered and perhaps hesitantly received. It is the beginning of all that is to follow, for both child and parents.

Kazuta Furukomi: Galaxy—Ginga

Looking up in wonderment at the night sky, ever twinkle seems more and more miraculous the longer we gaze. Just as miraculous is the birth of a baby. How will this youngster make its mark on our world? Will they discover other worlds beyond our own galaxy? Will they be blessed with health and happiness? A parent using this spoon finished with silver powder is likely to start wondering about such things as their baby takes its first mouthfuls.

Takashi Wakamiya: Strawberry—Ichigo

A soft succulent fruit such as a strawberry can suggest many things. This is especially true in Japanese as the character can be interpreted as a “mother grass”. The character for mother is topped with an abbreviation for grass. Takashi has endeavoured to invest his spoon with much meaning—hints of omens of good luck as well as success. The hope that the child will grow up to be strong and healthy is included as is the wish that the child will live long, expressed by the tiny checkered pattern on the handle.

母＝mother 苺＝strawberry

Toshio Ebata: Round and Cute—Tsubura

Choosing to entitle his spoon with a word alluding to the round, cute eyes of a baby, Toshio first used platinum powder to give the whole spoon its glittering effect. Small chips of mother-of-pearl highlight the bowl. It is with these qualities that the wonderment of life is admirably expressed. To this is added grains of rice. Something very practical—the hope that the child will never have to go without.

Katsuko Kado: The Height of Spring—Haru Ranman

It is fitting to associate spring with the weaning of a baby. Butterflies emerge from their chrysalis. New leaves burst forth and flowers bloom in profusion and a riot of colour. Spring is the time when clover in Japan comes into leaf, promising good luck for some. Spring is a time to be happy and when a baby begins to take food from a spoon, it is also a time for the parents to feel excited about the future and a little relieved that their offspring has reached a new mile post in its development. All this is hinted at in this elegantly decorated spoon.

All photographs courtesy of the Wajima Urushi Tanteidan—The Wajima Lacquer Study Group

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20/05/2016

Baby Spoons 3/4

Baby Spoons

Something had to be done. There needed to be a focus, something to bring people together to overcome the general predicament that the lacquerware makers found themselves in.

Below are the third five of the twenty Baby Spoons which were made and exhibited in Tokyo and Europe. They are an expression of something that Wajima needed. A new hope.

Hidetaka Wakashima: An Egg from which Dreams are Born—Yume wo Umu Tamago

The birth of a baby is a blessing. And, just like a child, an egg is a beginning, a symbol of what can be achieved as well as being expressive of limitless possibilities. To symbolise life-giving power and energy, Hidetaka used countless small chips of a quail’s eggshell to decorate his spoon—a mind-boggling piece of work full of meaning and suggestive of boundless possibilities—just as is a baby.

Kunikatsu Seto: Handmade Paper and Lacquer—Washi to Urushi

Nothing more or less than a spoon. Handmade Japanese paper was pasted over a mould. With the mould removed, the paper was then coated with lacquer a number of times. Using tin powder and lacquer Kunikatsu produced an effect echoing Japan’s liking for neutral colouring way back in the past. He was looking for a new combination of materials. Not the usual wood and lacquer. The result? A spoon of honest and utter simplicity.

Mikio Wakashima: With Chrysanthemums—Kiku Zukushi

By shortening and thickening the handle of the spoon it made it easier for a child to grasp and increased the area available for decoration. Chrysanthemums are known as the source of an elixir to ward off evil and danger as well as being associated with longevity. Drinking the liquor produced by steeping a chrysanthemum in saké brings all kinds of benefits even the blessings enjoyed by that of a hermit—never ageing and eternal life. This glorious flower is imbued with good, pure and simple.

Masao Matsumoto: Phoenix—Houou

Partly symbolising Wajima’s regeneration after the 2007 earthquake, this mythical bird is a classical emblem of new beginnings and therefore highly appropriate on a baby spoon. The Phoenix leads the way to the realm of the gods and opens the path to a good life.

The maki-e work is slightly raised and extremely fine in its detail.

Taichi Kirimoto: Temari and Fan-work—Temari to Senmen

Having worked in industrial design, Taichi’s approach is functional and highly considered. The long handle makes the spoon easy to use for mother and baby. The magnolia wood was seasoned for more than ten years and carved by a highly skilled craftsman. The decoration is associated with good luck and well-being. Traditionally a temari—a ball of thread in patterns—contained a message of goodwill from a Mother to her child. This spoon brings its own message of hope and good fortune.

All photographs courtesy of the Wajima Urushi Tanteidan—The Wajima Lacquer Study Group

13/05/2016

Baby Spoons 2/4

Baby Spoons

Something had to be done. There needed to be a focus, something to bring people together to overcome the general predicament that the lacquerware makers found themselves in.

Below are the second five of the twenty Baby Spoons which were made and exhibited in Tokyo and Europe. They are an expression of something that Wajima needed. A new hope.

Junei Shioji: Flowers—Hana

This floral trio is full of meaning. Picking up on the symbolism of purity, humility and simplicity is the white rose (left). Although often translated as plume, the ume (middle) is actually a Japanese apricot—white associated with men and the red variety with women. Along with the cherry, the apricot is one of Japan’s most representative and loved flowers. The Chrysanthemum is the insignia of the Imperial Family—a symbol of dignity and strength. For Junei what these flowers symbolise is what she would hope a child is blessed with.

Akio Sakaguchi: Moon and Rabbit—Tsuki Usagi

What do you see when you look at the Moon? The Japanese see a rabbit pounding sticky rice, perhaps for a New Year celebration. The meaning is clear—peace and happiness as well as a full stomach is what we would all wish for, especially for a newborn child.

Delicately rendered maki-e work on a red background with embellishments of gold powder.

Akiko Mizutani: Let’s Eat—Itadakimasu

Akiko has achieved so much with so little. The little mouse is a piece of wit and below the little boy or girl is a hope for bonds of friendship. The bowl and chopsticks—not wanting for food of course. The shirt/blouse a hope for life’s essential clothing. A house—a place to live in safety. Work and the will to develop is symbolised by a pencil. The dove? Peace, health and the willingness to help others. And a four-leaf clover for good luck. All these things are wished for and drawn with brevity and skill.

Naomi Kamata: Carp Swimming up Stream—Nobori Koi

What an elegant design. The simplicity of this long slender spoon with its delicate depiction of a carp struggling against the flow of a river is so Japanese—ascetic and yet so rich in quality. And it gives the impression of where it is heading—the open mouth of a baby eagerly waiting for the next spoonful. The symbolism is as simple—the hope of success in life and to live with conviction.

Hiroyuki Oka: A Dove on Wheels—Hato-guruma

Like all of these spoons, the use of a toy dove signals a hope for peace and happiness—what could be more satisfying than watching a small child playing happily with a treasured toy.

Hiroyuki has rendered this toy in gold and silver powder maki-e work and chips of mother-of-pearl.

All photographs courtesy of the Wajima Urushi Tanteidan—The Wajima Lacquer Study Group

07/05/2016

Baby Spoons 1/4

Baby Spoons

Something had to be done. There needed to be a focus, something to bring people together to overcome the general predicament that the lacquerware makers found themselves in.

Below are the first five of the twenty Baby Spoons which were made and exhibited in Tokyo and Europe. They are an expression of something that Wajima needed. A new hope.

Hitomi Yoshida: Grapes and Squirrels—Budo Risu

The symbolism of the title is simple—grapes grow in abundance on a vine and the number of off-spring squirrels have are considerable. Both are therefore seen as auspicious and enhance the idea of abundance and hence not wanting. Can you see the squirrel?

The motifs are rendered with a maki-e technique using gold powder and a limited use of pigments.

Etsuko Osaki: Cherry and Acer—Sakura Momiji

The joy of being a child born in Japan where the ever-changing pageant of the seasons is so glorious is celebrated on this spoon. The design and rendering is as sensitive as it is hoped the child will become.

Maki-e techniques predominate along with the use of flat gold slivers and mother-of-pearl.

Ryuji Ikehata: I Love You—Ai Rabu Yu

The message here could not be more simple—just the mere mention of a child instils feelings of love and something to be adored. “It was the first thing that came into my head” says Ryuji, “and to use an image of an angle (cherub) seemed fitting”.

The pigments mixed with true lacquer are applied with great delicacy while the lettering is slightly raised in gold powder and true lacquer.

Koushi Kado: Phoenix—Fenikkusu

The spoon is emblazoned with a symbol of life and immortality—an arabesque based on the phoenix plant. For the child it also represents a cry of encouragement with which to send them on their way in life.

The finely rendered maki-e arabesque is embellished with small pearls.

Yoshinori Shibayama: Dragonfly—Tonbo

Because a dragonfly always flies forwards and never retreats, it can be found on samurai helmets and is regarded with a great deal of respect in Japan for its tenacity and strength. It is hoped, therefore, that a child will possess the same steadfast nature and not fear whatever task with which he or she is confronted.

The dragonfly wing is chased and the bowl of the spoon is aglitter with chips of mother-of-pearl.

All photographs courtesy of the Wajima Urushi Tanteidan—The Wajima Lacquer Study Group

04/05/2016

On Design—Shin Gyo So, Formal Informal

The lanterns standing outside this stone mason’s workshop in Wajima display a full range of formal and informal styles.

Formal Informal

In the creative arts in Japan there are what are known as kata. It can mean a mould or a pattern or a style or type and even a convention or a stereotype. On occasions it is simply a shape. Most of these words in English refer to real things—“to pour lead into a mould”. In other cases the words describe situations—“there is a pattern in his behaviour”. The word can even be used to describe nothing more than a size—“I’d like to buy a large fridge”. From a design and creative arts point of view, kata is taken as a convention, a form or arrangement to be followed, representing something almost as if it were a universal code that the Japanese especially recognise as having significance.

A very informal almost rustic style of lantern

that corresponds to the So from Shin Gyo So

Such conventions, too, can be found in various aspects of society. If you are going to play golf in Japan you need to be wearing the “right” clothes. This phenomena is, of course, not exclusively a Japanese trait. Since the success of the British cycling team at the 2012 London Olympics, the roads in the countryside where I live have become racetracks or training courses for those who would aspire to follow their heroes. They all have the “right” cycling wear and are well equipped with light weight racing bicycles and helmets, too. This is not a jibe as such behaviour. It is simply evidence of just how committed this new breed of cyclists are, and the same is true in Japan. The would-be golfer is similarly passionate and anxious to look the part.

A page from a character manual shows the “true” Shin rendering at the top right of each block and the So writing in the lower lefthand corner. From Kakikata Jiten (A Dictionary of How to Write Characters) published by Nobarasha, Tokyo, 1978.

But how do these conventions work in design? Taking just one of them let’s consider Shin Gyo So, which for simplicity’s sake can be translated as Formal-Informal. The expression is often used to describe three styles of writing, or a gradual transition from a formal style through to a more relaxed and flowing style of calligraphy.

An example of formal through to informal arrangements of stones. From Nihon no Toshikukan (Urban Design in Japan) by Teiji Ito and others, published by Shokokusha, Tokyo (www.shokokusha.co.jp).

Although not exactly, this transition could be likened to the difference between very precisely hand written copper plate English script through a more fluid style, which finally becomes a quite loosely written and characterful handwriting.

A range of soup bows from the lacquerware workshops of Tohachi in Wajima. All display a very formal, elegant character.

This kind of transition can be seen in the way garden features are arranged or expressed. It is also evident in some forms of poetry and even in styles of swimming particular to Japan.

An example of a very informal, hand painted soup bowl lid from the archive of the Local History Museum in Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture.

The stones of a garden path might be rigidly arranged and therefore seen as formal. Using the same stones but in a far less rigid layout would be seen as informal and therefore verging on the rustic.

Hand painted in a very informal way, this soup bowl too comes from the archive of the Local History Museum in Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture.

Having such kata as a guide when designing something could, I suppose, be likened to the way a composer has different keys at his disposal when writing a piece of music—a minor key to create a melancholic atmosphere, a major key for a happier passage. However such conventions are used each one can be part of the designers palette of features and design devices through which to express style and atmosphere. It could be done through a lantern, a piece of lacquerware or even with a garden path.