Artists - TAKUMIBITO

Artists of TAKUMIBITO

In the kogei world of Kyoto, after more than two decades of technical training and sensitivity study, they will go past forty as a fresh artist.
It was called mid-career in mid-fifty, and often become a craft artist past sixty.

However, in rare cases, a special talent that combines amazing technologies with outstanding sensibilities appears at a young age.
They create overwhelming beauty and value that can not usually be thought of from age and experience, fascinate people and become a leader of Kyoto's kogei with a great presence.

Artists of TAKUMIBITO are special talent who rarely appear, who became a young leader of Kyoto.
Special talents representing each craft field will create new value beyond the field by the name of TAKUMIBITO.

Fields of Kogei

URUSHI Kogei

Urushi (lacquer) is a sap of Urushi tree.
URUSHI kogei is a technique that is regarded as one of Japan's leading crafts, culture.
URUSHI technique developed in various parts of Japan has its characteristics along with each culture.

Eventually, attention gathered from the world to its beauty and performance, it was regarded as one of Japan's leading kogei.

The fellowship of URUSHI with those who exceeded 5000 years of history, and Kyoto's URUSHI kogei cultivated over 1300 years in its history.

Black and vermillion serene and glossy paint : Lacquered URUSHI
A design drawn by gold powder or silver powder : MAKIE
The shining of shellfish that incorporates the light of the sea into its body : RADEN

Always incorporate grace from nature into its beauty, and constantly expressing the Japanese mind while changing with the times URUSHI kougei

Combine use and beauty, grow up with people, beautifully aged.

Creating such a URUSHI ware is one of the goals of URUSHI artist.

（written by Hyoetsu MIKI IV）

KYO-YUZEN dyeing

Yuzen is a pattern of dyeing born in Kyoto during Genroku era.
Although techniques for dyeing cloth have been various for many years, the birth of Yuzen Dye has made it possible to express brilliant and variegated expressions.

Kimono dyeing techniques

There are various techniques for dyeing kimono, such as Yuzen, squeezing dye, stencil dyeing, rouketsu dyeing.
Among them, hand-painted Yuzen is a dyeing technique that Japan is proud of, which draws and dyes all the processes like paintings with delicate and precise manual work.

There are about 20 or more steps until a single kimono is completed from a bolt of white cloth.
Especially important in Yuzen is the placement of the thread glue and the thread glue acts as a breakwater so that colors can not blur and blend even if the dyestuff is dyed and various expressions can be made.

With the background of the millennium's culture, KYO-YUZEN dyeing is calm and sophisticated, the design must be brilliant and graceful.

（written by Toki HATA）

Buddha statue

Buddha statue is a symbol that reproduces the figure as a symbol of Buddha, not originally a work of art, in that era, the state-of-the-art technology of the area, the material is devised and produced. And it was a symbol that leaders talk about wishes and thoughts.

Buddhism in Japan, Buddha statues were introduced in the Asuka era A.D. 538.
Beginning with the casting gold-copper Buddha that was not in Japan of that era, it flows with the times to a clay statue using soil, a vitrified lacquer using valuable urushi, and a wood suited to the climate of Japan.

The current Buddha statue preserves the ceremony made in the Heian era which is called a Japanese style, passed the time of over a thousand years, Buddha statue artist that era devised personal preferences from nobles, samurai favorites, people, and created Buddha statues was born.
As a result of greeting the invisible Buddha from the tree, they created a beautiful and mysterious Buddha statues for future generations.

The technology developed with the Buddha statue evolved the technique of casting, engraving, plating, earth sculpture, plaster, urushi technology, gold leaf etc., gold working, coloring technology, decoration gold plating, of course, also wood carving.
Buddhism was a tradition of indispensable culture for today's crafting techniques.

（written by Juun TOMITA）

Pottery

It is a collective name of pottery · porcelain made by kneading and hardening soil.
The difference between pottery and porcelain is only the difference in the amount of ingredients that will become glass, often together called ceramics.

Special History of Pottery in Kyoto

The pottery in Kyoto is called Kyo-yaki, and in recent years it is thought that production began in the early years of Keicho at the end of the 1590s.

There was also a story saying that Sen no Rikyu orderedthe six old kilns (Seto, Tokoname, Echizen, Shigaraki, Tamba Tachikui, Bizen) to make kilns in Kyoto, that is not certain. It may be a rare example that developed on an area where clay can not be taken much. At that time many was produced in Sanjo Awataguchi neighborhood.
The present remaining Kiyomizu-yaki is confirmed to exist by 1643.

After the WW2, the idea of "Artist" from overseas (work all do alone and making pottery) was brought, the division of labor that had been done has been reduced, and now many writers and traditional division of labor are mixed.
There are various kinds of Kyo-yaki, but there are many glazes and techniques besides pottery and porcelain.

（written by Bunsai OGAWA VI）