Ornamental Metalwork: Magnificent Mastery Transcends Generations

Core Kyoto.

Mt. Fuji shines dimly on this solid silver kettle.

This persimmon-shaped vessel is made entirely from metal.

The finest in metalwork continues to be made in Kyoto today.

Ornamental metalworkers instill their pieces with enthusiasm.

I think it's near impossible to eliminate
tradition to create something new.

Innovation is born from experience.

Searching for something new
is one aspect of handicrafts.

There is no limit in the pursuit of beauty.

I want to handle metal as I envision it,
like clay or paints.

My challenge is to devise
ways to do that.

Core Kyoto discovers how ornamental metalwork continues to transcend generations.

This Kyoto museum exhibits famous, highly treasured handicrafts.

The items in its collection were made in late the 19th through the 20th century.

Metalwork was once used to decorate swords and armor.

In time, it evolved for application in various fields.

This incense burner, for example, demonstrates the fine detail masters in the craft can achieve.

This gourd melon about to be harvested is also made entirely of metal.

This incense burner depicts a Japanese mythological deer.

The holes in the saddle allow the incense to escape.

This metal workshop has been in business for more than two centuries.

Most of its output is order-based,

and many of its recent commissions have been for utensils used in tea gatherings.

Chikueidou Eishin is the 7th-generation owner.

His grandfather made the museum's deer-shaped incense burner.

Ornamental metalworkers begin each piece with a single sheet, which they beat into shape and embellish.

Here, Chikueidou is shaping a solid silver kettle.

It will be shaped like
a traditional "mizutsugi" kettle.

Sen no Rikyu used
a black-based kettle.

My kettle will be shaped like that,

but I'll make it original for example
by carving the surface.

Kettles are used for either pouring cold water or boiling water during tea gatherings.

They are meant to have a more subdued presence than the graceful tea bowls.

Chikueidou considers the aesthetic detail, such as this carved lid handle,

as the ultimate in hospitality toward one's guests.

This plump kettle appears unadorned, yet the inside presents a second layer, one of pure silver.

The kettle embodies a rustic spirit, enhancing the beauty within the silence.

Chikueidou creates new forms, while keeping a firm foundation in tradition.

Tradition for me is creating by hand,

so it's necessary to always be searching
for things that are suited to handcraft.

He heats the metal to below melting point.

I quench it in water.

With silver, heating then quenching it
leaves it malleable,

so I can squash it with a bit of pressure.
This is how I shape items.

Ornamental metalworkers choose methods ideal for the metal they are handling.

Slowly, the kettle takes shape over a few months.

I want a matte finish,

so I beat it all over
with a dimple-faced hammer.

Chikueidou chooses his hammers, which are all handmade,

by their size, shape and the milling on the hammer's face.

These all decide the resulting expression of the metal.

Chikueidou believes that craftspeople should strive to produce something beyond customers' expectations.

He fulfills his clients' needs with a touch of ingenuity and inspiration.

Ornamental metalwork evolved in the 9th to 10th centuries as embellishment for temples and shrines in Kyoto.

Artisans' techniques improved and continually expanded the craft's application.

This temple has one room that boasts Chikueidou's work.

Metal fittings, like this, cover the nail heads that dot the room.

The silver was patinated by soaking it in a sulfide-based agent.

This international hotel has a strolling garden.

Chikueidou's handiwork is featured in the garden's tearoom.

Each of the sliding door handles are in a gingko leaf design.

When designing and building our hotel,
which opened in 2016,

we wanted to include small details
that were authentically made.

The tearoom stands in
an 800-year-old garden,

so we used traditionally handcrafted
fittings that matched the surroundings.

When founded around 200 years ago, the workshop made sword accessories.

It was the 4th-generation owner, Takejirou, who found success in producing ornamental metalwork.

His great-grandson, Eishin, took over in 1990 as the 7th generation.

At the time, he wanted to experiment in various directions,

so he devoted a year to producing original pieces.

I thought it important that I give myself
the freedom to create my own style.

And I needed to figure out
how to achieve that.

He accepted no orders during that time, and took out a loan to survive.

As he created, he also studied design and worked to broaden his expertise.

Here, he is chasing, or embossing, his latest piece, a kettle.

The design is an ancient Chinese mythological creature.

Chikueidou incorporates foreign elements to give new expression.

There are various types
of ornamentation.

My older brother excels at chasing, but he
also makes 3D models by kneading metal.

So we make different parts
depending on the piece.

Chikueidou's brother went out on his own and set up a workshop nearby.

Nakamura Tsuibu is an artist who manipulates metal.

After studying Nihonga-style painting,

he wanted to explore new avenues and create works distinctly different from the family tradition.

He developed his own metalworking technique, he calls "kneading,"

where he mixes metals to produce complex patterns.

His revolutionary method has gained much attention.

He received the grand prize at the 2022 Japanese Traditional Metalwork Exhibition

and was praised for his unique approach.

Metals undoubtedly play the most important
role in the culture of every period in time.

Take the car or the bullet train.

I think the most fundamental point here is that
humans actually began processing metals by hand.

So, I'd like to believe it's important to have
people who shape metal as they wish.

Nakamura uses silver, copper, and brass in his work.

He bundles them, heats them with a burner, and uses a silver solder to weld them together.

You get a cluster when you knead
together different shapes.

Soldering has been done over the ages.

I came up with an original way
of beating to knead the metals.

Ordinarily, beating welded metals breaks them apart, but Nakamura found a way around that problem.

He does not melt the metals to make an alloy.

He beats them into a cluster so that each metal retains its color and texture.

He now has the base for his next piece, which he will beat and stretch.

I used to paint pictures,

so I want to handle metal
as I envision it, like clay or paints.

My challenge is to devise
ways to do that.

On this day, Chikueidou has been invited to a tea gathering.

The plate bearing the traditional confections is his creation,

engraved with patterns drawn by the temple's chief priest.

A Tokyo University of the Arts graduate, the chief priest is an artist and holds solo exhibitions.

The pair first met at a tea gathering organized by the priest's wife, which lead to their collaboration.

Chikueidou, who specializes in tea utensils,

took up the way of tea to learn more about how the utensils are used.

You can't make the utensils unless
you have some knowledge of tea.

It's very important to know exactly
what is easy to use and what is not.

That's not all. You must also know about
seasonality and the beauty in the usage.

Chikueidou also made the stand on which the ladle and kettle lid are placed.

The engravings were inspired by an annual Kyoto bonfire ritual

to send off the spirits of the ancestors who returned for the Obon festival in August.

The shape of the five bonfires lit on the mountains around Kyoto are carved through the sides of the stand.

Chikueidou makes a new stand every year and offers it to the temple.

The cicada relief was created by hammering the stand from the inside.

We organize tea gatherings specifically
to invite guests,

and their enjoyment is utmost.

Therefore, it is fun using all these
interesting items he creates.

The traditional crafts of the townspeople
have unimaginable depth.

It is a difficult industry
where perseverance flourishes.

Kyoto has a college that specializes in nurturing the traditional arts and crafts.

Its curriculum of pottery, sculpture, and eight other courses attracts domestic and

international students aspiring to careers as artisans.

Chikueidou has been teaching the finer skills of ornamental metalwork for more than 20 years.

I want them to become familiar
with metals and learn -

the joy of working metal, creating,
and making something that lasts.

On this day, students in his 2nd year class are shaping copperplate into the vessel of their choice.

Chikueidou also teaches about the mindset of an artisan.

He teaches us, for example, to
not just drag a tool across the table -

but to lift it then put it down,
to care for our tools.

Metalwork is challenging, but I'm
determined to continue improving.

There are so many processes.

Something that may look simple at
a glance can have various expressions.

Watching him work makes me want to
shape metal as freely as he does, too.

It's fascinating.

Chikueidou is taking new initiatives to nurture the future.

In 2004, he renovated part of his workshop and now sells accessories made by young metalworkers.

Yokota Naoko is one of them.

One of Chikueidou's former pupils, Yokota graduated in 2000 and

today assists him in his work, while concentrating on accessories.

These are her animal bookmarks, embellished using ornamental metalwork techniques.

The pleasure is in thinking of how to give shape
to the design in your head and make it a reality.

I sometimes use traditional designs,
but I do all my work by hand.

Yokota is now working on an order for a tea utensil.

She adds expression to the strip of solid silver.

The creation of each new piece hones the skills of new artisans to the trade.

Mid-July and the summer heat is stifling.

Chikueidou, sporting a buzz cut, is working on a new kettle.

This is the handle for the lid.

Chikueidou has not taken a day off despite the pandemic.

Metal is considered inorganic matter,
but it transforms as people manipulate it.

Beating and decorating the metal is like
conversing with it, playing around and having fun.

To advance our techniques, the only
thing we can do is to keep creating.

The starting point for Chikueidou is his grandfather's hanging incense burner.

His father created models to illustrate how it was made.

One shows the early stage after the design has been cut out.

The other shows it later carved, waiting to be finished.

It is not often an artisan encounters such a valuable reference.

This incense burner is not finished;
it shows a work in progress.

First the shape is cut, then carved
and chiseled to give it form.

The process is clear.

These unfinished pieces teach us
the tricks of the trade.

It's a resource for people
who want to make one,

so it's our most prized treasure.

Chikueidou visits his brother so he can put the final touches on the water-pouring kettle they are collaborating on.

The parts are done, so once
you've carved the body I'll finish it.

It's looking good.

Can you align the spout?
Then I'll know where to carve.

Nakamura has made a sketch of a pine tree.

Chikueido's kettles have that
age-old, beautiful shape.

I want to preserve the work and
pass on my techniques and principles.

He engraves the pine leaves to the millimeter.

Done.

Nice.

A nice texture.

There's a balance between the texture
and the carving so it doesn't stand out.

It's best in the background
like a sliding door painting.

I hope it's actually easy to use
and the client will be satisfied.

It's not just about
self-satisfaction.

We've done a good job.

Ornamental metalworkers instill each piece with their zeal,

inspiring future generations to pick up the hammer and perpetuate the art.