The beautiful world of Japan’s pride, the master craftsman of Kaga maki-e, Isshu Tamura < PART 1 >

  • Movement / Craftsman
  • The Light and Shadow
Jun 20, 2019

SBGK002 and SBGK004, the Grand Seiko Elegance Collection released in 2019 condense the best of these techniques into the microcosm of the wristwatch dial. In order to better understand the appeal of these models, we visited the manufacturing base of Mr. Tamura in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and talked with him.

In urushi, one of Japan’s many unique arts and crafts, artisans use gold, silver and platinum powder to apply intricate patterns on the surfaces of lacquerware. Within this craft can be found Kaga maki-e, a discipline known for its exceptional technique and incomparable beauty. Kaga maki-e was also the starting point in the career of Mr. Isshu Tamura, Japan’s greatest maki-e artisan and leading expert in its fine techniques.

The foundation of the great Kanazawa lacquerware, built by outstanding artisans

The birthplace of the famous Kanazawa lacquerware known as Kaga maki-e is Kanazawa City in Ishikawa Prefecture. During the Edo period, Kanazawa City thrived as a castle town of the Kaga Domain, valued for its large rice production. Around the year 1630, the third lord of the domain, Toshitsune Maeda, who was committed to the promotion of arts and crafts, invited Kyoto’s maki-e master craftsman Dōho Igarashi (d. 1678) and his disciple, the expert craftsman Kuhei Shimizu (d. 1688), to instruct the artisans of workshops known as “osaikusho” in Kanazawa Castle. Originally, osaikusho were used for the maintenance and repair of weapons and armor, but in order to pursue artistic sophistication, they were made available for Dōho and his disciple to use as locations for the production of maki-e. They were converted into workshops to produce and restore furniture for the Maeda Clan and other items for the nobility.

The base of Kanazawa lacquerware was established by Dōho and his cohort, who instructed students in these workshops in their advanced techniques. The prime feature of Kaga maki-e is its graceful and precise patterns, created using highly developed and unique decorative techniques, such as shishiai togidashi maki-e and hira maki-e. Products such as furniture and tea paraphernalia, created by the hands of maki-e masters who had acquired these delicate techniques, are regarded as works of art that fuse the elegant court culture particular to Kyoto with the powerful samurai culture of Edo (present-day Tokyo). This gorgeous beauty, fusing neatness and nobility, has charmed the hearts of people throughout the ages. Kaga maki-e techniques, which developed into a unique style of lacquer craft, are more than 380 years old now and are still passed down to contemporary maki-e masters.

Isshu Tamura

The roots of Kaga maki-e, inspired by the graceful culture of ancient Japan

Areas of lacquer craft production, which developed into one of Japan’s famous traditional crafts, can be found all over the country. But what is special about Kanazawa lacquerware, which clearly distinguishes itself from the lacquerware of other regions? We asked Mr. Tamura about it:

“Around the beginning of the Edo period, when Kanazawa lacquerware was born, the outsider feudal lord of the Kaga Domain, which had a worth of more than 100 million koku (a unit of volume) of rice, was constantly under the watchful eye of the Shogunate. The third lord of the Kaga Domain, Toshitsune Maeda, decided, to make clear his intention to 'never take up arms,' on a policy of spending his domain’s large wealth not on military expenditure but on the arts and crafts. He invited leading artisans in every field to create this impression of a 'Maeda Clan for culture.' One of the arts and crafts promoted during this period was Kaga maki-e."

Based on this cultural policy implemented on a grand scale to improve the domain, two maestros of kodaiji maki-e—a cultural gem of the Momoyama period (1573-1603)—Dōho Igarashi and Kuhei Shimizu were invited to Kanazawa, and subsequently many goods incorporating the essence of the maki-e techniques of that time were produced.

“At the same time, Lord Toshitsune launched a tea production promotion policy and subsequently invited Sensō Sōshitsu, who later founded the Urasenke School of Japanese tea ceremony, from Kyoto, asking him to teach and popularize the art of the tea ceremony. After the Meiji era, during which tea houses had become places of negotiations for merchants, tea paraphernalia was manufactured using Kaga maki-e techniques. Even nowadays it is said that, ‘you can find all the paraphernalia that is necessary for the tea ceremony in Kanazawa.’ I think this is probably a peculiarity of Kanazawa lacquerware not found anywhere else.”

There are various patterns and compositions typical of Kaga maki-e, but Dōho Igarashi, who built up the base for it over two generations, left for posterity many works of akikusa maki-e, known for its motif of autumn grass, mostly chrysanthemum. Some of his most famous works, such as “Writing box with design of scene of autumn moon and field in maki-e and mother-of-pearl inlay” and “Medicine box with design of child of eternal youth from an old tale in maki-e” are held at the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art. Works of Kuhei Shimizu, such as “Book stand with motif of scene at Wakanoura in maki-e,” are known for having motifs inspired by classical Japanese waka poems in the Man'yōshū collection.

“Like Episode IX of 'The Tales of Ise,' where the protagonist leaves his home in despair to go East and, after reaching a place called Yatsuhashi in the province of Mikawa, sees an iris flower so beautiful that he composes a poem on wanderlust while remembering his beloved wife left in the capital, there are many songs filled with the Japanese spirit in the waka poems of ancient times, which are familiar to Japanese people. The Edo period is especially full of maki-e works with waka poems as motifs. I myself was inspired by Japanese classical literature such as ‘The Tales of Ise’ and ‘The Tale of Genji,’ (which was developed from the ‘Tales of Ise’) and I very often make tea paraphernalia such as natsume lacquer tea caddies.”

Mr. Tamura, who in recent years has had more opportunities to work on items like wristwatches, fountain pens and 18-karat gold accessories—which has enabled a broader range of people to discover the qualities of Urushi lacquer, continues:

“There are less and less people using traditional maki-e goods like lacquer boxes, trays or bowls, but I hope they will be able to feel the quality of Urushi when using everyday items like wristwatches and fountain pens. More than the appeal of Urushi or maki-e itself, it would be ideal if people could come to know it when taking such items in their hands, saying ‘This is Urushi. This is maki-e technique,’ and they appreciate that this good feeling was because the item was indeed manufactured using Urushi lacquer or maki-e. I am constantly thinking about how to better transmit this quality, exploring new creative forms in a daily cycle of trial and error.”

Traditional techniques developed to express ultimate beauty

There are numerous traditional techniques in maki-e. The simplest one is called “hira maki-e” (flat maki-e). It involves sprinkling gold, silver or platina powder on top of a design painted in lacquer, and once sufficiently dried, additional layers of lacquer are applied before polishing the surface with a mix of charcoal, or oil, and polishing powder. “Togidashi” (or burnishing) is a technique employing the same method as hira maki-e to paint the design, but after the entire surface is covered with lacquer and dried, the design is revealed by burnishing the lacquer with things such as charcoal, creating a smoother and firmer surface.

Taka maki-e involves applying numerous layers of urushi sprinkled with gold, silver or even charcoal powder to raise the design. I had the honor of applying this technique to the ‘GS’ brand logo and hour markers of the SBGK002 and SBGK004 models of the Grand Seiko Elegance Collection released this year, as its unique relief is vital to securing legibility.”

There are other techniques too. The raden technique involves working with the layer of mother-of-pearl found on the inside of shells like abalone, green turban and Pinctada Maxima pearl oysters. Then the layer is cut into thin sheets and carved into patterns. The exterior surface of an item is inlaid with these patterns before being finished with lacquer. The ranraku technique involves laying quail eggshells, ideal for thin and delicate designs, on the lacquer surface before applying pure white patterns to it.

Depending on the work, these techniques are used separately or in combination. It is said that in the early days of the Edo period, when master craftsmen Dōho Igarashi and Kuhei Shimizu were invited to Kanazawa, techniques called shishiai togidashi maki-e or shishiai maki-e were frequently used.

Shishiai togidashi maki-e is a technique combining taka maki-e and togidashi maki-e. This technique, in which one would raise only certain parts of the pattern with Urushi, charcoal or gold powder, and after they had hardened, polish down uniformly the relief surface, is said to be a technique that condensed the finesse of maki-e.”

Infinitely beautiful fine technique even when magnified 30 times

It has been almost 35 years since Mr. Tamura went independent after training under maki-e master craftsman Ikkō Kiyose, a pioneer of Kanazawa’s lacquer craft culture, from whom he learned the traditional techniques of Kaga maki-e. There is one thing that he has intently pursued in his own maki-e technique.

“I was very careful in the fine technique that I applied. Because it was for wristwatches, I painted the lines with constant attention paid to making them minute and beautiful, even when looked at magnified 30 times. This is why I used a 30x microscope when applying maki-e on the dials. I also make my own brushes, using only personally selected hairs, verifying the condition of every single one of them under the microscope, because if the tip of the hair is even slightly curved or split, it would affect the quality of the completed timepiece.”

We can only take one or two hairs from a single roof rat, a species of rat that inhabits the area around Lake Biwa. The long part on the tip of the hair, known as “mizuge,” has, according to Mr. Tamura, “an extremely good feel for painting.”

“When you look at mizuge under the microscope you can see it is scaly. I bind them with a cotton thread, insert them into the slim end of bamboo grass taken from mountains, and by holding it by the thick end, I make a brush. With use, some hair tips become uneven or curved, so I need to regularly tend the brush using a needle or tweezers. By the way, when sprinkling gold powder and such, the tubes I use are shafts from crane feathers, while my spatulas are made of whale baleen. The tools used for Kaga maki-e are often gifts of nature.”


Mr. Tamura not only checks every single hair of his brushes, he also carefully selects the gold powder he uses under the microscope. Such thoroughness is nothing but surprising.

“I check the gold powder under the microscope almost every day. I need to do this to conserve it in the best condition at all times, to prevent ruining the minutely painted Urushi lines with gold flakes of uneven size. Sometimes impurities such as dust will get mixed in, so I need to closely check the powder, removing such impurities regularly in order to use only the powder which I feel is up to the job.”

Urushi lacquerware is known for its robustness and durability, but in reality, how many years can it withstand?

“One of Japan’s oldest maki-e artifacts is the artwork created using the makkinru technique—said to be the roots of maki-e—found on the scabbard of the Kingin Denso no Karatachi sword, one of the treasures of the Shōsō-in Temple. It still exists to this day, so I think we could say Urushi has a proven record of more than 1,000 years. Talking about lacquerware only, there is lacquer craft exhumed from the Kakinoshima B ruins in Hakodate City, Hokkaido, that date back 9,000 years—the oldest in the world. Generally, Urushi has a popular image of being delicate and impractical, but I think it is the toughest kind of paint. Many other paints start to degrade after having dried completely, but high-quality Urushi will gently keep on hardening, giving it the characteristic of not degrading with age. This is the reason for its long durability.”

In Part 2, we will continue the interview with Mr. Tamura detailing the process from selecting the lacquer required for the creation of the Urushi dial models to applying the lacquer on the dials.

 

Isshu Tamura

Born in 1957. Currently residing in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Isshu Tamura trained in the traditional Kaga maki-e lacquer craft technique of Kanazawa under master craftsman Ikkō Kiyose. After learning these skills, Mr. Tamura set out to develop an unparalleled and original technique. He is Japan’s leading artisan of maki-e and Urushi lacquer. He has applied his extremely elaborate techniques of Kaga maki-e not only to lacquerware, but also to the creation of luxury fountain pens and wristwatches, which have received worldwide acclaim for their traditional beauty and one-of-a-kind elegance. The "GS" brand logo and hour markers of the 2019 Grand Seiko Elegance Collection Urushi dial models were handcrafted by Mr. Tamura who combined his original fine technique with a technique known as taka maki-e (or raised maki-e).

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