Family Gallery - "Making Works of Japanese Art: Introducing Traditional Techniques"

The summer holidays are here, which means it is time for our annual Family Gallery. The theme this year is “Making Works of Japanese Art III.” We will be introducing four techniques from traditional Japanese art.

(1) Mother-of-Pearl Inlay
This is a decorative technique that uses the shiny material found inside shells. The material is cut into patterns and attached to the surface of furniture or serving dishes. What kind of shells do you think are used? How do you think works with mother-of-pearl inlay are actually made?



(2) Armor and Helmets
Armor and helmets, worn for protection during battles, need to be strong and sturdy while also allowing the wearer to move easily. For this reason, Japanese armor was made using many different materials such as metal, leather and lace.



(3) Inlaying
This is a method of creating patterns by inlaying one material into another, different-colored material. Metal is often used and these designs can be found, for example, on sword scabbards, or on the guards attached to a sword’s handle. How do you think the artisan handles the hard metal? We will introduce this process and the tools used by the artisan.



(4) Repousse Buddhist Images
This is a method of hammering out images of a Buddha or bodhisattva onto a thin, bronze sheet. Though it sounds quite simple, it is actually quite a long, complicated process. We will present a model showing the production process from start to finish.