[VILLAGE Report vol.29] Placing Lacquer on Deerskin | Yamanashi Prefecture

Yamanashi Prefecture’s nationally designated items are Koshu Crystal Carving, Koshu Inden, Koshu Hand-Carved Seals these 3 items.

All three have very distinct characters.

Lacquer on leather

Koshu Inden is, Placing patterns in lacquer on deer leather is the craft. A stencil is applied, lacquer is placed on it, and it is left to dry.

When you think about it, this combination is curious. Lacquer is usually applied to wood or paper It remains on soft, stretching leather without cracking.

Deer leather is lighter and softer than cowhide, and the more you use it, the more it fits your hand. When lacquer patterns are added to it, the more it is used, the more luster it gains.

The name "Inden" is said to derive from something introduced from India. It is a theory that it originated in decorated leather brought through Nanban trade is one theory.

Most of the crafts we have seen in this series began with local materials. Inden is an example of a form that came from outside and settled into the land.

Cutting crystal

Koshu Crystal Carving is, as its name suggests, the processing of crystal.

Originally, high-quality crystal was found around Mitake Shosenkyo Gorge and that was the beginning. The raw stones have already been exhausted, and today stones are sourced from Japan and overseas for processing.

It is a production area where only the techniques remained after the raw material disappeared.

This is similar to Toyooka in Hyogo (vol.24). There, the region survived by changing materials, from willow to bags. Yamanashi survived by changing the place where its material came from.

Seals carved by hand

Koshu Hand-Carved Seals is the technique of carving seals by hand.

Behind it were the techniques for crystal processing, and a foundation for handling seal materials such as crystal and boxwood as its background.

Today, machine carving is mainstream. Still, hand carving remains because "no two can be made exactly alike" becomes a value in a seal perhaps.

The fact that it cannot be copied is itself its function. It may be the most unusual way of remaining in this series.

What the three have in common

Leather and lacquer. Crystal and blades. Seal materials and blades.

All three are works that combine hard things and soft things.

And all three are small Yamanashi is a prefecture that does not make large things. This may not be unrelated to the fact that it was surrounded by mountains and difficult to transport goods.

Next issue, we go to Fukui. We will talk about eyeglasses.

References: Yamanashi Prefecture, Kofu City, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries

—The Value Village Editorial Team

Photo: Boberger / CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)