Japan: a Powerhouse of Long-life Firms 2 Nambu Tekki Ironware 1st Pick on Japan's Traditional Craftwork List
2010 Jul/Aug
JAPANESE CRAFT & ART
By Toshimasa YOKOZAWA (Professor, Faculty of Business Management, Asia Univ.)
Origin of Nambu Ironware Japanese daimyo, feudal lords who controlled their respective domains across the country, considered sado, or tea ceremony, was the indispensable element of culture for them to have in the early part of the Edo period (1603-1867). Nambu Shigenao, second lord of the Nambu clan - which controlled today's Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan - had a profound knowledge of sado and invited Koizumi Goroshichi Kiyoyuki from Kyoto as a teakettle caster in 1659 and employed him as his dominion's maker of kettles, among other things. It is said that a small kettle with a spout and a handle that Koizumi made on a trial basis was the beginning of "Nambu tekki" cast-iron ware. His experimental creation spread out into the public in an instant and led to the completion of what is known today as the global brand "Nambu ironware" featuring a thin and light body. In 1975, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI, now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or METI) designated it as the nation's first "traditional craftwork." Flavor Grows As Used Long The casting technology that made the production of Nambu ironware possible has a long history as the manufacturing process called sogata in Japanese that has continued since the medieval period. Under this method, a casting mold is first made by baking sand and clay. After the mold is completed, dissolved iron is poured into it. Manufactured goods coming out of this method are represented by a Buddhist temple bells of the Middle Ages. However, there are not many craftsmen who have had the technology handed down to them. Morioka City in Iwate Prefecture is a very precious production site for retaining the technology, even from a global standpoint. Together with fine-quality iron indispensable to the manufacturing method, the city is blessed with ample charcoal and sand suitable for a mold. It has developed the technique, design and quality of products by leaps and bounds in early modern times. Iron is a natural material that becomes rusty over time and reverts to the soil. However, we see vintage iron kettles made several hundred years ago still being used at present. This is because their successive owners have paid particular attention to them while in use. Also, hot water from a kettle is drinkable from the time it is used for the first time, but it takes time for it to demonstrate its genuine charms. Scale is formed in a kettle, allowing the taste of... <<BACK

The whole story is only available to the subscribers.
Please login to access the site

	Log In:

ID/E-mail:
Password:


Forgot your Password?>>