The activities that have been launched under the leadership of Ms. Masako Sumoto to preserve and hand down the Ujo Tsumugi technique to later generations have expanded significantly. Among people who have attended her workshop course, there have even been some whose work has been selected for display at a prefectural exhibition. Ms. Sumoto and members of the preservation society have actively participated in various events, studying responses to products and preferred designs and engaging in marketing activities. Such continuous efforts by Ms. Sumoto and the preservation society have earned them the 4th Golden Takumi Award following their finalist status in the 3rd award. “Ms. Sumoto fulfills a large role in solidifying women’s active role in the world of traditional crafts” (Mr. Buzan Fukushima, jury member). The Ujo Tsumugi fabric itself has also received high praise: “The soft feel of the pongee and the extremely delicate nuance of the stripes are magnificent” (Ms. Kazuko Todate, head of the jury).

Ujo Tsumugi is a designated local traditional craft of Okayama. It is produced in a small region, and the entire process, from spinning, refining, and dyeing the yarn, to warping, preparing the loom, and weaving, is done alone without any division of labor. Thus, transmitting the technique is not easy. However, as fourth-generation master weaver, Ms. Masako Sumoto has preserved the technique all by herself and has launched a three-year workshop course to hand down the technique to later generations. Students of the ninth course are now in their final year, and the number of applicants for the tenth course is about to exceed the quota.
Members who learned the basics of Ujo Tsumugi in the workshop course organized Ujo Tsumugi Preservation Society in their desire to hone their skills. They also established Ujo Tsumugi Denshokan as a joint workshop with Ms. Sumoto, where more than fifty members now engage in activities to hand down the tradition and enhance their skills. In 2003, the trademark “Karami Ujo” was registered to protect the Ujo Tsumugi technique and quality.

Ujo Tsumugi “Color, Color, Color,”

The name “Color, Color, Color,” comes from the use of various colored yarns. When warping the warp yarns, the leftovers of previously used yarns are creatively added to give variety to the thicknesses of the stripes. When weaving, light-colored yarns and leftover weft yarns are used to create a multicolored effect. Even while producing a generally subdued impression, darker colors give accent to the design.

Mr. Masahiro Sasaki explores modern lacquerware while inheriting the tradition of Sanuki lacquer. The Kinma technique conventionally features a single-color base, but Mr. Sasaki introduces subtle gradations and delicate patterns that have never before been associated with Kinma. The ornate expression of his works has been highly praised by all jury members as displaying “overwhelming skills and creativity.” To further increase recognition of the technique, Mr. Sasaki has actively held group and solo exhibitions and organized workshops for primary school children for more than twenty years.

With a desire to “give originality to traditional crafts,” Mr. Sasaki has developed a gradation expression using original means based on the Kinma technique. He prepares five shades of lacquer, from vermillion to black, by adding increasing amounts of black. Vermillion lacquer is applied, followed by slightly black vermillion lacquer, then black lacquer, while shading off the border between them by applying return strokes. The lacquer is left to cure gradually in curing boxes set to three levels of humidity. Mr. Sasaki explains it is difficult to apply a thick layer of lacquer appropriate to carving a pattern in them afterward, without the lacquer dripping. After a month of curing, a checkered pattern is carved in the lacquer surface. Black lacquer is also added little by little to yellowish and reddish vermillion lacquers to prepare five different hues each. After carving the pattern, the incisions are filled with the colored lacquers. Even the same color lacquer appears differently according to the brightness of the top lacquer coating underneath. This slight variation in color creates subtle differences even with the same color of lacquer and produces a gradation. Mr. Sasaki has diversified the characteristic expression of colors of the conventional Kinma technique to produce modern Kinma lacquerware.

Dry lacquer Kinma octagonal lidded container with flower design

Black and red, considered the most beautiful colors of lacquer, are applied in a gradation on this lidded container which was crafted with the aim of creating a traditional yet new expression. The vermillion top coating of lacquer is carved according to the Kinma technique, then filled with a gradation of reddish and yellowish vermillion lacquer and polished.

It is said that the Kimekomi doll was first crafted around 1740 by an artisan using remnant wood after making an offertory box for a festival held at Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto. The traditional craft is made by molding paulownia paste (paste made by mixing paulownia powder and starch) into the shape of a doll, carving grooves in the doll and tucking brocade and Yuzen fabric into the grooves using a spatula.

The technique was highly popular in crafting festival dolls, such as traditional girls’ day and boys’ day dolls, but demand for such dolls has been dwindling due to today’s aging society and declining birthrate, coupled with trends toward nuclear families and other such lifestyle changes. Koikko approaches manufacturing from the perspectives of a changing consumer awareness and a sustainable society that eschews mass production and mass consumption. It creates novel products based on new motifs and applications while retaining the warm handmade feel of the age-old Kimekomi technique, fabrics, and sense of molding, to preserve the craft and hand it down to the next generation.

insectum

The Kimekomi technique has been combined with new 3D technology to create this insect object. The intricate details are impossible to achieve by hand; they are realized by using a 3D computer. The body and legs are made by brass lost wax casting and the rest by 3D printer, and the Kimekomi was applied as the finishing touch to accentuate the beauty of the fabric and the uniqueness of its form.

Iga Kumihimo braided cords date back to the pre-Nara period. There are various types of braiding stands used for making Kumihimo cords, namely the Kakudai, Marudai, Ju-uchidai, Ayatakedai, Takadai, and Karakumidai. Among cords made using these stands, those made using the Karakumidai are hardly seen today, as it takes too much time and effort and poses extreme difficulty. It normally takes two weeks or so to make a complex Obi cord, but when using a Karakumidai braiding stand, it takes from two to four months and several times more effort.

The Kumihimo crafting technique using the Karakuridai has been inherited from the Heian period. After the passing of thirteenth-generation Jusuke Fukami, the sole Kumihimo craftsman who was designated a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property, only a small handful of people possess this technique.

Mr. Yoshinari Matsuyama is one such rare artisan who has inherited the technique, and has presented his work at the Japan Traditional Craft Exhibition. Using yarns he dyes himself, he strives to share the challenge, efforts, and splendor of the Kumihimo crafting technique using the Karakumidai braiding stand.

Kumihimo (Karakumi) “Kaleidoscope”

This Kumihimo cord is made by wrapping an 8cm × 4cm cardboard, winding five yarns together into a spool, and interlacing 112 such spools of yarn. Large diamond shapes are designed in the center surrounded by four smaller diamonds on each side within solid-color margins. Natural dyes are used to dye the yarns. Proficient skills are required to braid the cord by tightening the yarns by hand, aligning the width, and creating a smooth, flat surface. This piece took a total of roughly 140 days, six to eight hours per day, to complete.

Shinseigama Kiln was founded in 1970, specializing in the overglaze decoration of Kutani ware. Second-generation Masao Miyamoto has inherited the multicolored decoration technique of the founder, but he also pursues Ryokusai green decorations with a strict eye on color, shape, and matière, and new expressions of Aode blue Kutani ware according to an original technique. Kutani ware is characterized by ornate overglaze decorations achieved by using the five colors of Kutani known as Kutani Gosai (purple, yellow, green, dark blue, and red), but the designs have become simplified in recent years. Furthermore, there are now less and less craftsmen who can adeptly use traditional Japanese paints. With meticulous attention to the five Kutani colors, Japanese paints, and detailed drawings, and a thorough pursuit of the essence of Kutani ware, Mr. Miyamoto has sublimated traditional Kutani ware into a refined, modern craft.

As a kiln owner and chairman of the Planning Committee of the Association of Traditional Kutani Craftsmen, Mr. Miyamoto holds porcelain painting workshops and lectures, plans books, PR videos, and exhibitions, and actively engages in activities to widely introduce “authentic” Kutani ware.

Ko-gosai incense burner with bird design
Incense burner with green flower and bird design

Based on an exquisite combination of exceptionally elaborate lines and highly translucent glaze unique to the kiln, and through the repeated process of glazing and firing more than a dozen times, a stereoscopic expression appears that glows like a jewel. A single refined line becomes a pattern, and these patterns assemble to form a picture. It is the quintessence of Shinseigama Kiln born of ceaseless pursuit down to the smallest detail.