[VILLAGE Report vol.31] 98 Percent of Gold Leaf | Ishikawa Prefecture

In Ishikawa Prefecture, there are Wajima Lacquerware, Kutani Ware, Kaga Yuzen, Yamanaka Lacquerware, Kanazawa Gold Leaf, Ushikubi Tsumugi, Kanazawa Buddhist Altars, Nanao Buddhist Altars and many other nationally designated traditional crafts. It is one of the highest numbers among Japan’s prefectures.

Why did so many gather here? The reason is quite clear.

98 percent of gold leaf

More than 98% of the gold leaf produced in Japan is made in Kanazawa.

Gold leaf is made by stretching 1 gram of gold to about the size of one tatami mat. Its thickness is on the order of one ten-thousandth of a millimeter. It will fly away if you merely blow on it.

One reason it concentrated in Kanazawa is said to be climate Gold leaf beating is vulnerable to dryness, and higher humidity makes it easier to handle. The winter moisture on the Sea of Japan side directly became a condition for the process.

In this series, I also wrote about how the humidity suited ramie in Omi Jofu from Shiga (vol.21). Here is another example of climate determining an industry.

The domain kept funding crafts

The Kaga Domain, though a tozama outside domain, had one of the largest rice yields in the country.

That domain invited craftsmen from Kyoto and Edo, and had a craft organization called the Osaikusho within the domain which is the biggest reason crafts gathered in Ishikawa.

Hikone Buddhist altars in Shiga (vol.21) came from former weapons craftsmen of the domain. In Ishikawa, the domain invested in crafts themselves from the beginning.

When the purpose differs, the way something remains also differs. Many Ishikawa crafts are ornate because they were originally made as furnishings for feudal lords.

Wajima lacquerware is determined by its base

Wajima Lacquerware Its feature is that the base layer includes Wajima jinoko a powder made from locally produced diatomaceous earth.

When this is mixed into lacquer, the coating becomes thicker and more durable. The process is said to involve more than 100 steps, Lacquerware made on the assumption that “even if it cracks, it can be repaired” in total.

Kishu lacquerware (vol.18) survived through its volume for everyday use, while Hida Shunkei (vol.26) survived by showing the wood grain. Wajima has survived through the idea of “using it for a lifetime while repairing it.”

Incidentally, the three great lacquerwares of Japan are said to be Aizu lacquerware, Yamanaka lacquerware, and Kishu lacquerware. Yamanaka is also in Ishikawa. Yamanaka is known for its woodturning techniques, and it also has a history of supplying wooden bases to Wajima.

The five colors of Kutani

Kutani Ware are green, yellow, red, purple, and Prussian blue: gosai, or five-color palette, a richly painted overglaze porcelain.

The porcelain we have seen in this series includes Arita (vol.03), Hasami (vol.04), Tobe (vol.16), and Izushi (vol.24). Among them, Kutani has the deepest colors.

If Arita is a porcelain that “leaves blank space,” then Kutani is a porcelain that “fills the blank space” in total.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can Kanazawa gold leaf be eaten?
A. Products sold as edible gold leaf are classified as food additives under the Food Sanitation Act and are used to decorate sweets and dishes. They are handled differently from foil used for crafts.

Q. Why is Wajima lacquerware expensive?
A. Because it involves an extremely large number of steps, from the base coating to the finish, with different artisans dividing the work among them. Like Hikone Buddhist altars in Shiga (vol.21), it is a craft based on specialization.

Next issue, we go to Toyama to talk about copperware.

References: Ishikawa Prefecture, Kanazawa City, Wajima City, Kaga City, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries

—The Value Village Editorial Team

Photo: Eckhard Pecher / CC BY 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)