{"id":20201,"date":"2018-10-29T05:23:38","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T05:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=20201"},"modified":"2018-10-29T05:23:38","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T05:23:38","slug":"why-these-luxury-buckets-go-for-thousands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=20201","title":{"rendered":"Why these luxury buckets go for thousands"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It’s hard to imagine the humble bucket being a work of art, but those made by Shuji Nakagawa in his Kyoto studio go for thousands of dollars and have a loyal following.<\/p>\n

Smooth, tactile and fragrant with the heady smell of hinoki — the Japanese cypress they are constructed from — “ki-oke” are used for a variety of purposes from storing rice and miso paste to holding water for bathing.<\/p>\n

The level of craftsmanship, honed over a century of teaching and built on traditional methods that go back 700 years, creates a flawless finish and it is almost impossible to see the joints between the slats on the buckets.<\/p>\n

“For me, there is such great skill, and history, and philosophy in one ki-oke,” Nakagawa says. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"_V0G1916\"<\/div>\n

Nakagawa employs 700-year-old carpentry techniques in the making of wooden buckets and other specialist items Credit: <\/span>Nakagawa Mokkougei<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

His following continues to grow, as has the critical appreciation of his work — he was chosen as a finalist in the prestigious Loewe Craft Prize 2017.<\/p>\n

A 10-year-old’s first job<\/h3>\n

The story begins with Nakagawa’s paternal grandfather, Kameichi, who 90 years ago went to work at famed carpentry studio Tarugen — when he was just 10 years old. <\/p>\n

\nAt 45, Kameichi left to pursue his own ki-oke firm, calling it
\nNakagawa Mokkougei<\/a>. Now run by Kiyotsugu — Kameichi’s son and Nakagawa’s father — the company still operates and is one of the most highly regarded traditional carpentry firms in Japan.\n<\/div>\n

Punishing schedule<\/h3>\n

Nakagawa was initially resistant to follow his father, but he eventually joined the family business after graduating with a fine arts degree from Kyoto’s Seika University. He worked 10 to 12 hour days every weekday to learn the craft.<\/p>\n

In 2003 he opened up his own studio — still an offshoot of the family firm — in rural Shiga province, a 90-minute drive from the downtown Kyoto workshop that he grew up in.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n
\"_MG_0632<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Shuji Nakagawa Credit: <\/span>Nakagawa Mokkougei<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

He says an ordinary piece would normally take about a day to finish, but for standout pieces, like his entry for the Loewe prize, he can spend up to a month working on them.<\/p>\n

Changing demands<\/h3>\n

However, times have changed and as cheap, plastic, or mass-produced utensils have become readily available, the demand that was a given for his father and grandfather is no longer there. This third-generation carpenter has had to make some changes to the way his company designs, produces and — ultimately — markets its product. <\/p>\n

“For my father and grandfathers’ generations, there was always enough demand for their product so they didn’t have to be innovative,” he says. <\/p>\n

“But since people’s lifestyles have changed and they don’t use ki-oke any longer, this has dropped off. But for me, there is such great skill, and history, and philosophy in one ki-oke. <\/p>\n

“To lose that is ‘mottainai’ — a great shame — to me. So if I can carry on this skill, this history and philosophy, the form is not important. If I can pass this on to the next generation I’m willing to change the form, to modernize, as long as the essence is there.” <\/p>\n

Pushing boundaries<\/h3>\n

As a contemporary artist and master craftsman, Nakagawa mostly works alone, but he has recently collaborated with a diverse range of artists and designers to showcase his work and expand his impressive portfolio.<\/p>\n

\n

Weaving Shibusa: How Japan perfected an American classic <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nThey include Danish design firm
\nOeO<\/a>, Italian designer Denis Guidone, Japanese design powerhouse
\nNendo<\/a> and famed contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto.\n<\/div>\n

One collaboration resulted in a new, contemporary use for the buckets — for cooling champagne — and for two years he was the official supplier of Dom Perignon champagne buckets in Japan. <\/p>\n

\nHe’s a member of a project called
\nGO ON<\/a>, where he’s worked on conceptual pieces based on the theme of “home electric appliances of the future” in
\ncollaboration with Panasonic<\/a>. The works will be presented to the public in April.\n<\/div>\n

He also worked with OeO on a “Ki-oke stool” based around the lines and construction methods of traditional buckets and an “Indigo Gradient Table,” which follows the same design language. <\/p>\n

“What is unique about it is that we’re all the younger generation — mostly in our 30s and 40s,” he says. <\/p>\n

“When we got together we realized we had our own unique issues selling products that we can work together to solve. This isn’t like an old-style guild, we’re all working in different media so it’s truly a cross-genre group.”<\/p>\n

Looking overseas<\/h3>\n

He says that attitudes towards traditional crafts in Japan have changed since his father first worked with his grandfather at Nakagawa Mokkougei — nowadays the keenest interest comes from distant shores. <\/p>\n

\n

This crystal universe actually exists <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“If we go overseas people tend to look at what we do as a creative business and think of it as a very positive thing.”<\/p>\n

Despite the renewed appeal his beautiful pieces hold, Nakagawa says he doesn’t want to force his own son — who is seven years old — into the family business. <\/p>\n

“I don’t want to force my children into the family business unless they want to. Traditional crafts in Japan had been customarily taken over by the oldest son of the family, but I don’t think it is necessary. <\/p>\n

“I’m willing to take on new apprentices and staff. Increasing the number of people who know how to make ki-oke is what we should be doing.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s hard to imagine the humble bucket being a work of art, but those made by Shuji Nakagawa in his Kyoto studio go for thousands of dollars and have a loyal following. Smooth, tactile and fragrant with the heady smell of hinoki — the Japanese cypress they are constructed from — “ki-oke” are used for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":20202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}