Reproduction of Cultural Heritages- Passing Down the Legacy-

It was over 400 years ago that gilding on walls and sliding doors started to flourish.

Genuine gold itself is resistant to any chemical reactions, yet, the pigments or paints coated over or other metals mixed in the golden alloy have been through discolouration over the centuries.

Today, the authority, the owners of those heritages, and the experts of materials and craftsmen are cooperating together to pass down the legacies in ideal forms.

Horikin/Shizendo, with a passion to energize the traditional materials and techniques, is honoured to take part in such projects.

For gold leaves and powder, we would always thoroughly examine the current condition of the site and determine the colours and techniques of gilding best suited to the condition before actually starting to work.

Given the fragility of the materials, there are a lot of challenges in the process- intense investigation of the site, coordination with the craftsmen and the makers in other fields and direction of the craftsmen… which all stimulate our passion!

Here are some photographs from one of the projects, duplicating a set of sliding doors “Cho-Yuru zora- literally, Hyper Rough Sky” in Otsudera Temple in Gifu Prefecture.