#5. State-of-the-art cutting tools: drills
2024年12月19日
SEVEN WINDOWS Yuki-hira Dial Model
2025年3月21日#5. State-of-the-art cutting tools: drills
2024年12月19日SEVEN WINDOWS Yuki-hira Dial Model
2025年3月21日#6. Chestnut Tiger
While looking at the seashore on the way to the Noto Peninsula, I was reminded of remarks made by an expert that bowls made in the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573–1603) have a gently curved and stable shape. The more turbulent the times are, the more likely it is that the shifting emotions of creators who hope for peace appear in the shapes and forms of their works. The Noto Peninsula was hit by two major disasters—an earthquake and a flood—in the same year. It is hard to imagine how Wajima lacquerware artisans are now working under such conditions. My mission was to imprint their works and the earnest look in their eyes in my memory and consider the weight that the word “reconstruction” carries over the long term. After hearing that Junichi Hakose, a Wajima lacquerware maki-e artist, is currently working on lacquer dial plates for MINASE, I visited his workshop and saw him decorating lacquerware with a white butterfly motif.
He broke a thin quail eggshell into small pieces with a sharp wooden stick, picked up fragments even smaller than 1 mm in size, and placed them on lacquerware to form the pattern of butterfly wings. The color of lacquer tree sap is light-brown, so it is technically difficult to produce nearly pure white from it. Therefore, broken quail eggshells have long been used to paint in noble white in Wajima. “This is a reliable technique because there has never been any discoloration of lacquered eggshells in the history of Wajima,” said Hakose. “As a creator of works that last for generations, I do not choose the easy way out.” His words made me realize how long it has taken to refine Wajima lacquerware to where it is now. One of the two motifs chosen by Hakose for new lacquer dial plates requested by MINASE is a butterfly with white wings called a chestnut tiger. This mystical butterfly reportedly flies 1,500 kilometers across the sea between Japan and overseas.
Hakose’s works are highly praised by jewelers who have shops in the Place Vendome in Paris. However, his encounter with MINASE, when he wanted to create world-class works together with a made-in-Japan brand, made him decide to help with the production of dial plates. For Hakose, the chestnut tiger is a messenger who spreads the greatness of Japanese traditional crafts to the world and may serve as a symbol that brings people’s attention back to the Noto region to discover the background of these works, including the history, culture, and scenery. It will take a long time to completely reconstruct the Noto region. Even amid the continuing unstable situation, artisans are committed to creating works that will be appreciated for over 100 years with unwavering pride and passion. I think I saw something underlying Japanese manufacturing.
This is an in-depth travelogue of Mr. K. Kawakami who specializes in writing reports on various factories.
He takes a look at the fundamental value of MINASE, with incisive insight and observation refined over the years, as a seasoned expert on the watch industry.
Writer : K. Kawakami
K. Kawakami is a professional writer specializing in exploring diverse factories, reporting on their unique manufacturing practices in Japan and around the world. He travels to the factories of many manufacturers that operate on the principle of perfection, including watches, electrical appliances, shoes, fashion items, buildings, foods, confections, and traditional crafts.