【FILM】Visited a hyogu - mounting craftsman

On a bicycle, dressed in working clothes and sandals, a hyo-gu (mounting) craftsman has routinely come to Horikin, or Shizendo physical store for decades. This day, he quietly orders: “300 pieces of 23K genuine gold leaf”

Rich in temples and shrines, Kyoto is known as the home to many craftsmen necessary in maintaining those historical architectures.

 We have no choice but to walk or cycle across the narrow streets of Nakagyo Ward (literally, the center of Kyoto), where Horikin/Shizendo is located. 

Many people still reside in traditional Machiya houses here and the craftsman we interviewed this day is one of them.

Hyogu - Mounting: The gold decoration most familiar to the Japanese

Hyogu (mounting) items include the hanging scrolls, folding screens, sliding doors, etc that are framed with clothes or paper.

 Gold leaves stars in some of them. The hiraoshi technique of completely covering the surface with gold leaves is one of the main techniques in hyogu.

The job of craftsmen- what is the essence?

We see the ultimate craftsmanship in him when he perfectly gilds the glued washi paper with gold leaf in the grid, without any draft lines.

Most craftworks in Japan have developed through the division of labor. 

He had learned the gilding in hyogu by his master and has specialized it ever since. He says: “Craftsmanship is all about patience rather than dexterity.” 

The essence lies in being okay with working on the same thing all day every day. 

Although there is great variation, generally, the gilding process starts with "transferring" gold leaves to the square pieces of washi paper, and then, gilding a large, glued piece of washi paper with the transferred leaves.

He works only under the natural light that comes from the window. No electric lights.

Gilding is done with bamboo tweezers.

It is often said that every craftsman originally customizes their tweezers to fit with their hands- adding grips, sharpening the edges to bend,… 

In his case, he had cut the joint once and re-joint them, so they operate even more smoothly.

He humorously speaks “Since I have no apprentice, I want these tweezers to be in my casket”

These tweezers are connected so tightly to him- they are his hands, as well as buddies. Hearing his hamble pride, we had our spines straightened.

Reminiscing the master

Seeing himself in a short video, he seemed surprised, and yet happy. 

“When gilding, my hands and silhouette… look exactly like my master…”

As mentioned earlier, he believes that “craftsmanship is all about patience rather than dexterity.”

 With his patience, he has internalized and quietly kept the wisdom, philosophy, and techniques of his master. 

He has no apprentice to hand over the craftsmanship. 

One of the Lights of Crafts is being lost here- just like in every corner of the Japanese traditional craft industry. 

 Visiting him has re-confirmed our honor of being involved in this invaluable history of hyogu (mounting) industry, at the same time, the serious challenge of sustaining it to the next generation. 

Craftsmanship quietly dying out in the corner of Kyoto…The context is overly complex, and we can never just easily, or simply prevent them. 

We humbly hope that spotting the light to the craftsmen or artists would be a small effort to connect the Lights of Crafts to the next generation.