while in kyoto i had the opportunity to visit hasegawa-san's workshop housed in a traditional machiya in nishijin.
hasegawa-san is a third generation kyoto shuttle maker; a soft spoken man who downplays his importance and fame in that very japanese way.
his family supplied the shuttles to silk weavers in nishijin during years and although there are not many weavers left in nishijin , hasegawa- san still continues to practice his craft.
the shuttles are made of oak blocks which are carved and filed into shape. most of the work is done by hand although drills are used to drill holes and a hand press like machine is used to force an eyelet into the holes so that the fine silk threads don't get caught.
except for one or two all photos are from the catalogs he gave me.
i was too enthraled and at the same time excited to take photos
neki desu
so interesting! must have been awesome to have seen this for real
ReplyDeleteoh
ReplyDeleteI love how Japanese crafts turn every tool into its own highly developed craft. a good reminder.
ReplyDeletewow!
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