Uncover the Light of Japan 197882067141


"We may possibly simply have lost our appreciation for handmade goods." Igarashi san has been making chochin paper lanterns in his little shop for his very existence. His father too, and his grandfatherand great grandfather and even great, great grandfather. The various tools & equipment that surround him today, in fact, have outlasted his ancestors, their wooden surfaces worn smooth with age. Since the start of the Meiji era (1868 - 1912) Kanazawa citizens have already been buying Igarashi chochin from the shop, in the heart of old Kanazawa's business district, near the back of the castle. The shelves are piled high with beautifully decorated lanterns - vibrant bursts of color peppering the confines of the small class. 

Chochin lamps have a relatively long history in Japan - there is evidence of them being used in temples in the 10th century - and were used mainly as a portable means of light. Only occasionally used inside, they usually hung outside a residence, temple or company or else in the entrance, willing to be stopped on a and carried before everyone going out through the night. Igarashi-san reckons that previously these were so popular there would have existed 40 or 50 chochin retailers only in Kanazawa. Today there remain only herself [http://bisermarket.com/ site link] and one other local contractor in the other fellow and the industry (Matsuda-san) has long since diversified, making traditional umbrellas his principal. 

Creating a chochin is a difficult, relatively gentle method despite the magnificently simple appearance of the conclusion product. And, when asked what're the main qualities in his career his bright eyes dead serious, "patience and concentration" are replied, by Igarashi-san. The average measured lantern in accordance with Igarashi-san, at about 30 cm across, can be made at a rate of about two each day by one man including a lot of the painting. However some truly big ones have remaining the Igarashi store over the years - his greatest was a matsuri monster measuring 5 shaku (1 shaku = 30.3cm in the old Japanese measuring system) in length by having an intricate year of the rabbit design about it. The old lantern creator is realistic concerning the fact that people want cheaper, mass-produced, plastic covered lamps these days - he also carries them himself - but he's confident in the data that a well-made paper lantern is a lovely thing, excellent in many ways to these garish modern impostors. 

"You can repair an excellent chochin," we are told by him, "you can change one rib or repair a hole in the report no problem." "Plastic lamps haven't any internal frame and can not be patched." A paper lantern no matter how well-crafted lasts just about per year (pure beauty is definitely fleeting) although a plastic one might last twice that and cost half as much. Along with that, we as a society could have simply lost our appreciation for handmade items. Price has become our main motivation as clients. We don't care to understand how things were made nowadays, or they were made by who, or else Igarashisan will be the effective head of a string of shops. 

The walls of his ready-to-hand scrapbook game and the Igarashi Chochinya numerous monochrome pictures and press clippings showing a happy, broad-shouldered child with strong, thick hands and a fetching smile showing off sophisticated report spheres with matsuri lights glimmering in the backdrop. Humbly demonstrating us them, his warm, friendly smile just falls somewhat as he tells us that he'll function as the last of his family line making lamps here.