Date and time Friday, January 27, 2017 and Sunday, February 12 13: 30-14: 10
Venue Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum 1F Hall
Lecturer Aiko Ishimoto (lacquer artist)


Aiko Ishimoto himself held a gallery talk to commemorate the holding of the "Urushi Aya Sanka Exhibition".

Mr. Ishimoto has been active as a sinking family for many years at the workshop "Ishimoto Tamamizu" in Kisohirasawa. In recent years, he has been working on the production of colorful lacquer works using a unique technique called "Fushi lacquer painting".

This is the first exhibition on the theme of lacquer in the museum. So I started with the basic story of lacquer.
Lacquer is a sap from Urushi tree. It is a natural material that is excellent as a paint and an adhesive. In Japan, it has been used for a long time since the Jomon period.
Among the urushi trees widely distributed in Southeast Asia, the sap found in Japan and China is mainly composed of "urushiol", and lacquer from Japan boasts high quality as a paint. However, domestic lacquer is currently only 5% of the distribution volume, and most of it is made from Chinese lacquer.
Lacquer collection is carried out from the end of May to early October, when it grows well. It is collected with tools of unique shapes such as Kama, Canna, and Hera. You can only collect about 200g from a single Urushi tree.

Next, I would like to talk about the production process and tools.
Mr. Ishimoto's "Fushi lacquer painting technique" basically uses traditional sinking tools. He explained the tools and materials actually used, such as spatula made from various materials, sinking swords, and lacquer brushes using women's hair.

Most of the lacquer panel works are based on the scenery of Kiso.

Mr. Ishimoto responds carefully to questions from customers one by one. The work shows the preciseness and delicateness, but it is usually a very friendly personality.

"Kokyo Shunki" is over 1 meter high. The cherry blossom petals finely colored with sinking gold are projected on the glossy lacquer mirror surface, and the appearance of the petals dancing is beautifully expressed. It seems that this was produced in a year, but this work led to the desire to add color to lacquer.
The traditional deposition, which is made with gold on black lacquer, shines in old spaces such as candles and lights over shoji door, but when placed in a bright room of modern times, it looks three-dimensional. I want to make it easier to incorporate sinking into modern life ... From such a desire, he devised a technique of "Fushi lacquer painting gold" that incorporates plenty of colors.

The decorators are made of lacquer. The base is made of wood, but it feels as heavy as a metalwork.

The 15cm square small work is popular as a work that can be easily displayed in ordinary houses. But at first, I started making it as a partial test piece before making a big piece. This work was born in the process of trial and error, how many colors should be painted and how much it should be carved.

Mr. Ishimoto has worked on a number of wonderful works, but he never will be satisfied when the work is completed. The attitude of continuing to challenge the new possibilities of lacquer not only in tradition but also greedy is the driving force behind the next work. I'm looking forward to seeing you in the future!

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