【FILM】Craftsman visit: The gilder of the “golden Shoki”

Every craftsman called “gilder” has a different facility and set of tools for their atelier, depending on their field of work.

This time we visited the craftsman who gilded on the golden shoki* on the roof of our retail store, protecting us from the evil for over the past ten years with his shining body- despite the rain and wind! Let’s peek into the origin of this patient guy!

*Shoki is the man-shaped god that has been passed down from Chinese Taoism and is believed as a talisman. We often see them placed on the roof of traditional houses in Kyoto and neihbouring Nara.

The atelier- a traditional machiya building with two floors- is located in the narrow alley of the sophisticated area of Kyoto, condensed with art museums and galleries.

The craftsman has the master skills and knowledge as a gilder of small objects and is a man of the idea, getting involved in many creative projects, including this magnificent installation : see the past article in the magazine. He is also very easy to talk to, and gently speaks to us whenever we visit.

The symbolic signboard of our retail store is also gilded by him, and it shows how special he has been to Shizendo. He is now working with his apprentice.

The base is critical in gilding. The glue for gilding does not attach well directly on the clay-made surfaces like that of shoki, so his work starts with forming a decent base.

Being cautious of all the deep and shallow valleys of the surface…

The foundation is the most difficult part of gilding. The experiences of a craftsman make it work. Another important aspect is the time difference of application between the glue and the gold leaves- it determines how the gold leaves shine.

Covering with a thin layer of clear resin makes the object resistant to sunshine and rain, yet, making it too thin might deprive the object of the authentic, delicate lustre of gold leaves… the balance is figured out by the constant tries and errors of craftsmen.

We feel so privileged to learn new ways of using our materials from craftsmen and artists in our neighbour.