Ikkokusai Takamorie (Raised Lacquer Painting)
Ikkokusai Takamorie (Raised Lacquer Relief)
Ikkokusai Takamorie is a lacquer art handed down in the Kinjo Ikkokusai (金城一国斎) family of Eba, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City. Motifs are built up high with a mixture of urushi lacquer and tonoko (whetstone powder), then colored with colored lacquers to finish. It is characterized by depicting plants and insects three-dimensionally, as if in relief, and is regarded as a technique with few parallels in Japanese lacquer craft. Its appeal lies in its ability to express both the softness of painting and the solidity of sculpture at the same time. The technique has been passed down to a single heir in each generation (isshi soden) and has a history of more than 180 years. The main products include inkstone boxes, decorative trays and tea utensils. In 1991 (Heisei 3), it was designated a Hiroshima Prefecture-designated Traditional Craft, and in 2011 (Heisei 23), a Prefectural Intangible Cultural Property. Today, the seventh-generation Kinjo Ikkokusai carries on the technique.
Origin
The founder of the Ikkokusai line is said to have been 中村市郎右衛門 (also given as 市郎左衛門), a samurai of the Owari Domain. Another source states that the first generation, who trained in lacquer art in Osaka, became an official lacquerer for the konando (personal attendants' office) of the Owari Tokugawa family and took the name 'Kinjo Ikkokusai,' so the first generation's name differs depending on the source. The second generation was the second son of the first, and it is said that while traveling around the provinces to learn the technique of choshitsu (carved lacquer), he devised takamorie and opened a business in Osaka.
History
In Tenpo 14 (1843), the second-generation Ikkokusai visited Hiroshima to receive treatment for an eye disease and taught lacquer art to 木下兼太郎, the eldest son of an Eba-yaki potter. 兼太郎 took the name of the third-generation Ikkokusai and, together with the second generation, carried out repeated research to perfect takamorie. From then on, the technique was passed down in Hiroshima from generation to generation. The fifth generation is said to have studied gold maki-e and added gold to takamorie, broadening its range of expression. At the G7 Hiroshima Summit in 2023, maki-e glasses by the seventh-generation Kinjo Ikkokusai were chosen as gifts for the leaders.
Features
The main subjects are plants such as peonies, lilies and autumn maple leaves, as well as insects. Placing paper wasps (ashinaga-bachi) among the plants is said to be a hallmark of Ikkokusai works. The motifs rise three-dimensionally from the surface of the vessel, and plants and animals are depicted realistically by applying different colored lacquers. Among the third generation's jikiro (lidded food containers), there is a work praised for its lifelike expression, as if real chrysanthemum flowers had been attached to it. Besides takamorie, the seventh generation also creates works incorporating techniques such as choshitsu, kirikane (cut metal foil) and carved maki-e.
Techniques
Takamorie
Sabi (lacquer-and-whetstone-powder paste), a mixture of tonoko and liquid lacquer, is built up on a lacquered surface or on a wood or bamboo base to create a relief. After it hardens, the shape is refined with carving knives, and colored lacquer is applied to finish. Unlike choshitsu, which creates forms by carving, takamorie creates forms by building up, enabling soft, free-flowing shapes and vivid coloring.
Materials Used
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Artisans & Workshops
七代 金城一国斎
A lacquer artist born in 1965 (Showa 40), a native of Hiroshima Prefecture, whose real name is 池田昭人. In 2011, he was recognized by the prefecture as the holder of Ikkokusai Takamorie, a Prefectural Intangible Cultural Property. While carrying on the styles of past generations, he expresses the beauty of nature through the four seasons (kacho fugetsu: flowers, birds, wind and moon). His studio is in 江波東, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City.
How to Buy
- Art gallery at 福屋八丁堀本店
- A department-store gallery listed as a main retailer of Ikkokusai Takamorie in Hiroshima City's introduction of 'Hiroshima Brand' (ひろしまブランド). It is located at 6-26 胡町, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City. Since each work is priced individually, it is best to inquire in advance whether works are available.Where to buy →PR
FAQ
Q. Where can I see takamorie by past generations?
A. The Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum (Naka Ward, Hiroshima City) holds many works by the third-generation Kinjo Ikkokusai, including incense containers, confectionery vessels and trays. Images and descriptions of the works can also be viewed on the Agency for Cultural Affairs' 'Cultural Heritage Online' (文化遺産オンライン). Exhibits at the museum vary depending on the season.