［17］Tokyo Kiri-Tansu　［19］Yasuri　［20］Edo Mikoshi　［22］Edo Doki　［23］Yumiya 2016,Mar.

List of Traditional Handicrafts of Taito City(Where to contact for more information)

〈Edited and published by〉Taito-ku Sangyoshinko-ka(Promotion Section, Taito City Office)4-5-6 Higashi Ueno, Taito-ku Phone: 03-5246-1131

Finest artisanship in skills and spirit communicates the warmth of crafty hands to our age.Taito City has been a major center of commerce and culture for centuries. Its long history as a city of commons has nurtured a beautiful variety of traditional handicrafts, which are still carried down and developed further by artisans of many different kinds working in the city.Their traditional handicrafts, products of their highly sophisticated skills and the choicest materials, carry warmth and flavors that no mass-produced product shares. Thus, those handicrafts bring enrichment and peace of mind to us.

Every year end, Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, is crowded with people attending “Hagoita Ichi” (battledore market). Most of the battledores sold or displayed at the market are of the kind, “oshie hagoita”. “The custom of applying “oshie” (collage pictures) to a battledore began in the Edo Period, Ever since then, many of the hot sellers have always featured kabuki actors or popular multi-colored ukiyoe works. Today, those picture battledores are believed to bring good fortune to their owners and guide girls to healthy growth.［01］

［The History of Taito City’ s Traditional Handicrafts］Taito City has flourished as the home of the

Edo period culture and been welcoming to everyone including the common people since then. Still now, the City has the most historic places and culture in Tokyo that show signs of the Edo period including: shrines, temples, and regular townspeople’s elegant and spirited temperament.In the City, traditional handicrafts that have

been handed down from the Edo period are thriving and people can feel the warmth from products made by the many skilled craftsmen.Then why are so many craftsmen in Taito

City?In the Edo period, the city of Edo was the

center of economy and the main market of Japan.Houses were built everywhere around Edo

castle and were separated into areas by rank. One was called “yamanote,” the hilly area or the uptown where the upper classes like “daimyo,” feudal lords; and “samurai” lived. Another was called “shita-machi,” the

low-lying area or the downtown where the lower classes like regular townspeople lived. Here in Taito City, many regular townspeople

gathered.Also, the City was prospered as the popular

resort because many theaters and “yoshi-wara,” red-light districts, were in Asakusa, one of the towns of the City. Therefore, the City had high demand for

products for “kabuki,” the traditional drama performed by male actors, and those for daily life. The demand made craftsmen produce various crafts. From a geographical standpoint, the Sumida

River also played a significant role. It made craftsmen easy to carry necessary materials and the City had a good location for them. For these reasons, many craftsmen have

worked in the City now.Taito City has developed its craft industry

and today the City is one of the most famous places in Japan for its large share of the traditional craft industry.

Edo’s aesthetics finding today’s expressionsTaito C

ity’s Traditional Crafts

Edo Tsumami Kanzashi～Hair Ornaments with Prongs～

Edo Isyogi Ningyo～Costumed Dolls～

Edo Tegaki Chochin～Edo Traditional Lanterns～

Edo Oshie Hagoita～Padded Collage Paddles～

Edo Sashimono～Wood Joinery～

This is a special school of joinery making. Whether the work is a chest of drawers, a dressing table, a desk, a jewel box, or other kinds of furniture, the artisan combines wooden boards without a metal nail. Nor he/she allows him/herself to let any of the wood-to-wood joints appear visible on the outside. Edo, where people craved for sophistication and aesthetics, was the suitable cultural cradle for a school like this. The city’s artisans meticulously trained their own skills and techniques to develop this craft, insisting on the best in selection of raw materials, tools, the assembling artisanship, and everything.［04］

The artisan pinches a square-shaped piece of “habutae” silk cloth with his/her fingers to turn it into a triangle. (“Tsumami” means “to pinch”.) Then, she/he combines such triangles to make them look like a flower, a bird, etc.In addi t ion to providing a per fect ornament to Japanese-style hairdos, “tsumami kanzashi” also makes a nice western hairdo nicer. Thus, today, artisans are breathing new life and beauty into “tsumami kanzashi” while maintaining all its tradition.［03］

Clad in a dress of silk, cotton, linen, or some other mate-rials, Ishogi (literally, “wearing clothes”) ningyo is not just tender and lovely but carries some unexplainable warmth as well.In Taito City today, there are still many “ishogi ningyo” artisans, mainly around the Asakusabashi Area, making dolls for the Girls Festival of March, Boys Festival of May, as well as the kind known as “Ichimatsu” dolls (named after a famous kabuki actor of Edo). Those artisans still follow their time-honored process ofdoll making. Their dolls are shipped to the prefectures around Tokyo as well as to thewhole nation.［02］

At Japan’s traditional festivals and events, “chochin” lanterns are indispensable to light up the place and create the suitable atmosphere. Chochin artisans of Tokyo are primarily those who write/paint characters, family emblems, etc. on chochin to finish off the whole making process. Characters written on chochin must be of a particular Edo-style group of fonts known as the “kantei” style, which is used at kabuki theaters as well. And this character writing is considered to be the hardest part of the whole chochin making. Recently, made-to-order chochin, which has the owner’s name and family emblem painted on it, and some others are hot sellers as part of lovely interior.［05］

Edo Oshie Hagoita

Edo Ishogi Ningyo

Edo Tsumami Kanzashi

Edo Sashimono

Edo Tegaki Chochin

Edo Moku-Chokoku

Edo Hake

Edo Sudare

Edo Kimekomi Ningyo

Edo Mokuhanga

Edo Bekko

Edo Zoge

Edo Kiriko

Tokyo Teue Burashi

Tokyo Uchi-hamono

Tokyo Ginki

Edo Shikki

Tokyo Kumihimo

Edo Wasao

Tokyo Butsudan

Tel. 03（3861）3950

Tel. 03（3861）3950

Tel. 03（3861）0522

Tel. 03（3874）1504

Tel. 03（3872）6568

Tel. 03（3691）7154

Tel. 03（3622）5304

Tel. 03（3873）4653

Tel. 03（3861）3950

Tel. 03（3830）6780

Tel. 03（5607）0888

Tel. 03（3841）2533

Tel. 03（3861）0961

Tel. 03（3622）5304

Tel. 03（6904）1080

Tel. 03（3831）3317

Tel. 03（3293）2501

Tel. 03（3873）2105

Tel. 03（3803）1893

Tel. 03（3620）1201

Tokyo Hina DollCooperative Association

Tokyo Hina DollCooperative Association

Tokyo Kamikazarihin Manufacturing Association

Tokyo Paper Lantern Manufacturing Guild

Tokyo Brush Manufacturing Association

Tokyo Slatted Blinds Industry Association

Tokyo Hina Doll Manufacturing Association

Tokyo Traditional Wood-Block Print Craft Association

Tokyo Bekko (Tortoiseshell) Cooperative Association

Tokyo Cut Glass Manufacturing Cooperative Association

Tokyo Lacquerware Cooperative Association

Edo Kumihimo Manufacturing Guild

Edo Wazao Manufacturing Cooperative Association

Tokyo Karaki Butsudan Manufacturing Cooperative Association

Edo Wood Carving / Japan Wood Carving Federation

Tokyo Brush Manufacturing Association

Tokyo Gold and Silverware Industrial Cooperative Association

Tokyo Cutlery Industrial Association

Edo Sashimono Cooperative Association

Tokyo Ivory Arts and CraftsAssociation

［01］

［02］

［03］

［04］

［05］

［06］

［07］

［08］

［09］

［10］

［11］

［12］

［13］

［14］

［15］

［16］

［18］

［21］

［24］

［25］

Tosho Center Bldg. 4F, 2-1-9 Yanagibashi, Taito Ward, Tokyo 111-0052

Tosho Center Bldg. 4F, 2-1-9 Yanagibashi, Taito Ward, Tokyo 111-0052

2-9-10 Kojima, Taito Ward, Tokyo 111-0056

Tokyo Burashi Kaikan, 2-2-14 Azumabashi, Sumida Ward, Tokyo 130-0001c/o Tanaka Seirensho Co., Ltd,1- 18-6 Senzoku, Taito Ward, Tokyo 111-0031

c/o Tamagawa Shikki Co.,Ltd. 2-15 Kandatsukasamachi, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo 101-0048

5-9-17 Negishi, Taito Ward , Tokyo 110-0003

1-14-7 Higashiasakusa, Taito Ward, Tokyo 111-0025

2-4-19 Suido, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo 112-0005

3-26-3 Nishi-Asakusa, Taito Ward , Tokyo 111-0035

Tokyo Burashi Kaikan, 2-2-14, Azumabashi, Sumida Ward, Tokyo 130-0001

4-18-10 Kameido, Koto Ward, Tokyo 136-0071

2-24-4 Higashiueno, Taito Ward, Tokyo 111-0015

c/o Kiryudo Co., Ltd., 1-27-6 Kiyokawa,Taito Ward, Tokyo 111-0022c/o Saochu, 5-11-14 Minamisenju, Arakawa Ward, Tokyo 116-0003

1F Copo Sumire, 4-9-32 Ayase, Adachi Ward, Tokyo 120-0005

2-26-18-101 Narimasu, Itabashi Ward, Tokyo 175-0094

2-27-7 Higashinihonbashi, Chuo Ward, Tokyo 103-0004 (408, Tokyo Soshou Kaikan)

c/o Mr. Fukushima, 1-1-2-315 Nishishinkoiwa, Katsushika Ward, Tokyo 124-0025

Tosho Center Bldg. 4F, 2-1-9 Yanagibashi, Taito Ward, Tokyo 111-0052

Edo Mokuhanga～Woodblock Print～

Edo Bekko～Edo Traditional Tortoiseshell Products～

Edo Kiriko～Faceted Glassware～

To make a perfect ukiyoe print, “horishi” or the engraver and “surishi” or the printer have to work in perfect harmony.Taito City still has all the artisans necessary to produce ukiyoe prints, namely “hangishi” (maker of wood blocks), “horishi”, and “surishi”. They are dedicated to restoration of all the beauty of ukiyoe, which breathes the spirit of the Edo culture into us living today.［10］

Ivory carving was introduced to Japan from China during the Nara Period. Ivory’ s smooth texture and comfortable hardness have attracted countless artisans since antiquity, who make ornamental buttons, hair ornaments, seals, “shamisen” quills, bridges of “koto” musical instrument, nails for playing “koto”, and many other items out of the material.Today, after centuries of succession, ivory carving has found its way into even more categories of traditional handicraft items, such as table ornaments and other ornaments.［12］

“Kiriko,” or cut-glass technique has various designs cut into its surface using a grinder machine, diamond grinder machine, or emery grinder machine. Many of the patterns represent plants including: chrysanthemums and hemp leaves, or are based on everyday items in the Edo period, including: “kagome,” a woven bamboo basket pattern; and “yarai,” bamboo fencing.［13］

First introduced to Japan during the Nara Period, tortoise shell (bekko) crafts was further developed in the nation during the Edo Period, when intricate processing of such shells became popular.While combs and Japanese hairpins used to be the common works of bekko, nowadays artisans have carried the craft up to a new, higher stage of aesthetics and are making excellent necklaces, broaches, other accessories, spectacle frames, and more.［11］

～Japanese Fishing Rod～

Edo Sudare～Reed Brlinds～

Edo Kimekomi Ningyo～Posted Material Doll～

Paulownia powder is solidified with starch to form the doll’ s body. Then pieces of cloth are wedged into the wooden body (called “kimekomi” in Japanese) to dress up the doll.The resulting doll combines lovely facial expression and gorgeous c lo thes to demonstrate the Japanese aesthetics.Taito City’s production of “kimekomi ningyo” ranks among the largest across the nation.［09］

Sudare’s history began in courts of the Heian Period (794 to 1185), where they used the blinds as an interior partition and a sunshade. Even today, a millennium after their birth, those blinds still provide us with cool protection from the summer sunshine.Made of bamboos, reeds, and other materials from nature, those blinds also bring enrichment and peace of mind to everyday living of many, as a distinctive part of the interior.［08］

Taito City has countless Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, where a great variety of highly sophisticated wood carving techniques has been succeeded and developed for centuries, including, among others, two-and three-dimensional carving, openwork, and many others.Those carving techniques are found in articles used in Buddhist and Shinto worships, wall ornaments, carved table ornaments, “ranma” carved windows, and more. Today some artisans are also creating works with new aesthetics, emphasizing the beauty of wood grains.［06］

Edo Hake～Paintbrushes～

Edo Zoge～Ivory Carvings～

Edo Moku-Chokoku～Wood Sculptires～

The first known written instance of the name “Edo hake” is found on paste brushes used for “hyogu” (scroll mounts) in the mid-Edo Period. Today, this category of brushes is divided into seven sub-categories: paper hanging, dyeing, doll, lacquering, woodblock printing, white powdering, and painting. Brush artisans today hold on to their time-honored methodology and make the most of the characteristics of animal hairs they use.［07］

Tokyo Teue Burashi～Handmade Brashes～

In making Tokyo “teue brushes,” craftsmen pick out every strand of bristle fold it in two and insert it one by one by hand into the perforated wooden part. The hole is bored by using “tsubo-kiri,” a unique hand drill with a half-round blade. The bristle made of pig, horsehair, wild boar, and goat hair are durable because they are placed in separate sections into the brush.［14］

After the law allowing people to cut hair and only carry swords by choice in the ninth year of the Meiji era, swordsmiths started to develop Tokyo “uchi-hamono,” hand forged cutting tools, over swords. Today, Tokyo “uchi-hamono” is made from softer core metal combined with harder steel to form a jacket and is characterized by its extremely sharp cutting edge.［15］

Tokyo Uchi-hamono～Hand Forged Cutters～

The elegantly lowkeyed, tender glitter of silver is found in many of our everyday-use articles, from tea utensils to tableware to ornaments. Craftsmen use a wide variety of techniques to continue making Tokyo “ginki” from the Edo period. Today, Tokyo accounts for most of the domestic silverware production.［16］

Tokyo Ginki～Silver Ware～

The history of chests of paulownia is younger than many think. Early in the Edo Period, the first chests of this kind were created in Osaka. Then, the 18th century saw them spread among common people. The t radi t ional artisanship behind kiri-tansu makes the best of paulownia’s resistance to fire and moisture and produces chests that carry their own elegance and class.［17］

Tokyo Kiri-Tansu～Pulownia Chest～

Usefulness is the keynote of this school of lacquer ware. Sturdy and simple, the school’ s works fit into our modern lifestyles very well.Though lacquering is extremely a painful job, it has its unique advantage, namely the depth and beauty of colors and the smooth, comfortable texture. For this reason, lacquering is counted among the things that represent Japan’s aesthetics.［18］

Edo Shikki～Lacquer Ware～

The word, “yasuri,” or a file, comes from rubbing (“suri”) bows and arrows (“ya”). Many “yasuri” have been excavated from Nara period ruins.“Yasur i ” i s main ly used for fo rg ing, ar twork production, and restoration of cultural properties and national treasures. These days, “yasuri” are also used for medical tools, and making fishing rods, musical instruments, and precious metal goods and jewelry including necklaces.［19］

Yasuri～File～

Every summer, an annual festival declares the advent of summer to Asakusa, a home of commons in Taito. And “mikoshi” is the central figure of this festival.Craftsmen perform seven different roles to make the “mikoshi,” including: the “mokuji-shi” who makes the main body out of wood; the “chokoku-shi” who carves wood; the “kazari-shi” who makes and attaches metal ornaments to the “mikoshi;” and the “imono-shi” who makes ornaments out of the four corners of the roof. Seeing spirited young people winding through the town carrying the “mikoshi” on their shoulders is exciting.［20］

Edo Mikoshi～Temples and Shrines Ornaments～

Edo Wasao

Tokyo Kumihimo～Braided Cords～

Yumiya～Brow and Allow Archery～

Edo Douki～Copper Ware～

Tokyo Butsudan～Buddhist Altars～

An artisan of those rods combines bamboos of many different kinds to make one single fishing rod.The natural flavor of the bamboos and the adorable gloss of the lacquer harmonize with each o ther to make the f ish ing rod a craftwork of excellence. When fishing with a “wazao” rod, you enjoy a feeling unique to this kind of rods, something no rod of glass fiber or carbon can provide. Thus, many anglers still insist on using “wazao”.［24］

Dating back to the Nara Period (710 to 794CE), “kumihimo” was primarily used as ornaments to samurai’ s weapons and armors until the Edo Period. Today, however, they are used to fasten up “obi” (belt), “haori” (jacket), etc. and also as necktie and other ornaments.Tokyo “kumihimo” is renowned for its beautiful twill lines. Also, the cords do not slack once tied up. The more you use those cords, the more you enjoy the hand-madewarmth they carry.［21］

“Kyudo”, or the Japanese way of archery, is now winning many adherents, though often unnoticed. A kyudo bow is made of a bamboo, which the artisan first boils in a pot to soften. Then he/she extends the bamboo and carves and polishes it. Then he/she applies some firing to the bamboo and attaches a feather to it.A competent artisan can produce only one “kyudo” bow or two a day. The bow making is truly a painful job and therefore the production is very limited in volume. Still, kyudo bows’ natural texture and comfort of use are something no duralumin or glass fiber rod shares.［23］

“Edo doki” is copper ware made by hammering a copper plate to form objects. Copper has higher thermal conductivity than iron or stainless steel and its ion is characterized by its sterilizing ability.［22］

Many “butsudan” (Buddhist altar) shops stand along Asakusa Avenue that runs from Ueno to Asakusa in Taito City. The city is a home to many “butsudan” artisans.Made of ebony, violet wood, etc., Tokyo butsudan altars feature carving techniques that make the best of the wood grain and create three-dimensional depth. The resulting altars are renowned for their simplicity and sturdiness.［25］