NIPPON Kichi - 日本吉

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2007/12/14


重箱 Jyubako Jubako Lunch Boxes

Jp En

Jubako lunch boxes come in various shapes such as cylindrical or hexagonal, but the most common is square.

Jubako are basically lunch boxes for food. They may have up to 5 layers. Officially, these layers represent the 4 seasons, so there are usually only 4 layers. Jubako may hold special food such as 'osechi' at New Year, or for hanami cherry-blossom-viewing picnics, or during athletic festivals.

It is believed that jubako developed from 'food baskets' ('shilong') introduced from China. However, there are references to lunch boxes in Muromachi-period documents, therefore, it could be said that jubako have a long history.

During the Edo period, jubako came to be used by common people, too, and their real manufacture began in 1610. Samurai and daimyo used them as lunch boxes during leisure outings, such as hunting expeditions. Later, they started to be lacquered and decorated. Even now, this traditional item is commonly used in Japan.
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2007/10/4


良寛 Ryoukan Ryokan

Jp En

Ryokan was a Soto Zen Buddhist monk in the late Edo period (1603-1868). He is also known as a calligrapher and poet, who wrote both Japanese waka poems and Chinese classic poems.

He was born in in the village of Izumozaki in Echigo Province (now Niigata Prefecture) in 1758. He was much influenced by his father, who was a Nanushi (village officer) and poet. Ryokan studied under Omori Shiyo, a scholar of Chinese classics and became his father’s assistant.

Later he visited and stayed at Entsuji Temple (in present-day Okayama Prefecture), where he was ordained priest by the Zen master Kokusen. It was around this time that Ryokan also took interested in writing poems and deepened exchanges with many poets of the time.

Ryokan attained enlightment and was presented with an Inka (a formal acknowledgement of a student’s completion of Zen training) by Kokusen at the age of 33. He left Entsuji Temple to set for a long pilgrimage and necer returned to the monastery life. He lived the rest of his life as a hermit and taught Buddhism to common people in easy words instead of difficult sermons.

He disclosed his own humble life, for which people felt sympathy, and placed their confidence in him. A lot of artists and scholars also visited his small hut, Gogo-an, where he talked with them over a drink of Hannya-yu (enlightening hot water, namely Japanese hot sake). He died in 1831. His only disciple, Teishin-ni published a collection of Ryokan’s poems titled “Hasu no Tsuyu (Dewdrops on a lotus leaf).”
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2007/9/4


練上手 Neriagede Neriagede

Jp En

Neriagede is an artistic technique for creating ceramic pottery by layering or blending of clay of different colors to create a striped or marbleized effect. It requires high level of pottery techniques. Quite simply saying, it can be a little like making a tiered cake (baumkuhen).

The Neriagede shaping process comprises the steps of stacking alternately a plurality of clay boards differing from each other in color, which creates beautiful striped or marble-like patterns. In order to avoid cracking and breaking which come along with mixing a variety of different kinds of clay or during firing, high level of thechniques and extensive experiences are required.

The thechnique of Neriagede is said to be derived from the marbeling tchnique (called “Kotai” in Japan) in the Tang Dynasty China in the 7th century. It is said to have been introduced to Japan around the Azuchi-momoyama period (1568-1598), for there are several pieces of Neriagede pottery, which were supposedly made in this era, have been found.

In recent years, the techniques to color the clay itself is invented and more complex and highly artistic works are being created. New “layers” of the techniques are overlapped on to the traditional “layers,” which continuously propels the development of this high-leveled ceramic ware.
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2007/8/14


山中八幡宮デンデンガッサリ Yamanaka-hachiman-guu-denden-gassari Dendengassari at Yamanaka Hachimangu Shrine

Jp En

Yamanaka Hachimangu Shrine in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, is a historic shrine founded during the reign of Emperor Monmu (696-707). The enshrined deity is Hachiman Daijin. The shrine is known for its close association with Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Dendengassari performed at Yamanaka Hachimangu Shrine on January 13 every year is a traditional rice planting ritual handed down since the Muromachi period (1336-1573). Praying for an abundant harvest of the year, a man disguised in a cow carries the piled two pieces of rice cake, each of which is about 70 cm in diameter and 10 cm in thickness, on his back and walks around a big drum on four limbs at the shouting sign of “Deeen! Deeen! Gassariya!” After going around the drum, he falls over to the floor, which represents that the rice cake is so heavy that even a cow falls down.
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2007/8/9


玉虫塗 Tamamushi-nuri Tamamushi Lacquer Ware

Jp En

Tamamushi lacquer ware was developed in 1932 by Shun Koiwa (artist name: Komei), who taught at National Tohoku Craftworks Institute established in Sendai by the old Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 1928. Traditional lacquering techniques and some innovative techniques were combined together to create a product with styles favored by foreign people.

The origin of the name Tamamushi comes from the fact that it glitters just like a Tamamushi (jewel beetle). After a base coating with lacquer, silver power is sprinkled on the surface, over which lacquer is applied 10 times, or in special cases 40-50 times. Because of this silver coating and repeated lacquering processes, its color is iridescent and mysteriously beautiful. In the final stage, patterns are drawn and decorated with the techniques of Chinkin (gold-inlay carving) or Makie (gold and silver powdering).

In the post-war period, it became very popular in foreign countries and became the major lacquer ware item for export. Today, it enjoys a good reputation domestically and overseas as the lacquer ware that fits both Japanese and Western lifestyles.
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2007/8/6


仙台堆朱 Sendai-tsuisyu Sendai Tsuishu

Jp En

Tsuishu is a kind of Japanese traditional lacquer ware. In the making of Tsuishu, the thick layer of solid lacquer is engraved with designs such as flowers, birds, or landscapes. Tsuishu originated in China and was introduced to Japan during the Heian period (794-1192). Tsuishu ware was highly valued as tea utensils and house ornaments.

In the making of Sendai Tsuishu, however, the total production time, which is said to be several months at the maximum, is considerably reduced by producing many pieces of engraved lacquer ware of the same pattern out of one hand-carved prototype. The molded wood-carved intaglio is then coated with vermillion lacquer at least one hundred times. This streamlined production method was established during the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Special care is normally needed to handle Tsuishu lacquer ware, but improvements in heat and water resistance were made in Sendai Tsuish so that each item is suitable for daily use without losing delicacy and beauty of lacquer. This is why Sendai Tsuishu has maintained its reputation as a long-beloved traditional art work
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仙台竿 Sendai-zao Sendai Fishing Rods

Jp En

The Sendai fishig rod, the hallmark of a Japanese traditional telescopic fishing rod, is coveted by anglers all over the country. Date Masamune, the founder of the Sendai domain, who had a broad range of interests and loved fishing, also favored this flexible and strong fishing rod.

It has been made in the same way for 400 years since the time of Masamune. Materials of the rod are carefully selected from locally grown eight species of bamboo including Matake and Koyadake in accordance with the function of each section of the rod from the end-piece to the middle-pices and the handgrip. Then the materials are made into one set of fishing rod through as many as 200 detailed manufaturing processes. At the final stage of the production, lacquer is applied many times to give the rod wonderful gloss.

The rod breaks down to 6 to 15 sections and extends to an about 3-meter rod. The whole rod keeps good balance and its performance is extremely excellent. Although composed of many sections, the rod feels like one bamboo stick. It is known for its light and flexible action. It is both functional and practical, and also an exquisite piece of craftsmanship.
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2007/7/25


彩釉磁器 Saiyuu-jiki Saiyu Porcelain

Jp En

“Saiyu” is a technique of overglaze enamel painting that involves the application and firing on of colored glaze to a previously high-fired porcelain body. When the whole surface is covered in glazes of different colors, they fuse together to create a gradated effect.

Saiyu porcelain was developed in Ming Dynasty China in the 14th century. The techniques of Saiyu were introduced to Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868) and were adopted and developed in Arita and Kutani porcelain.

One of today's best Kutani Saiyu masters is Tokuda Yasokichi III. He has made great efforts to develop his Saiyu technique based on the Old Kutani color glaze enamels. Backed by the highly elaborate techniques, he expresses the beauty of the color combination and the delicate gradation of colors. Tokuda’s Saiyu porcelain is characterized by delicate shading and beautiful contrast of the colors of the enamel glaze. Using this original technique, he has created his own world.
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