Japanese Nails
Biology of Metal: Metal Craftsmanship in Tsubame-Sanjo
(September – October 2018)
The production of durable nails for timber-frame architecture in the early 17th century was the beginning of the metalworking industry in the Tsubame-Sanjo area. The industry flourished as the ever-increasing demand for building materials grew in the Shogun's city, Edo (present-day Tokyo). With the growth in popularity of building styles from outside Japan from the 19th century onwards, however, the need for so-called 'Japanese nails' almost disappeared. There is now only one nail blacksmith in Tsubame-Sanjo. The technology required to produce high-quality nails has now been applied to the production of highly durable tent pegs.
BIOLOGY OF METAL: METAL CRAFTSMANSHIP IN TSUBAME-SANJO presents an illustration of how craftsmanship and small industry are embedded in tradition, embrace the new, and adapt in a changing society. It is inspired by the Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival (Kouba no Saiten) initiative, a form of ‘factory open house’ held every year at the beginning of October in Tsubame-Sanjo.
Tsubame-Sanjo is an area in the northern Japanese prefecture of Niigata. It is known for the precision and skill of the craftspeople from its numerous small metalworking factories and workshops manufacturing a huge variety of products. It produces the majority of all of present-day Japan’s cutlery, its businesses have developed ultra fine metal-polishing techniques, and the area boasts a centuries-old ‘Living National Treasure’ copperware manufacturing tradition.
Tsubame Sanjo is the only area in Japan to produce all cutting tools, numbering over 60 kinds, used in the creation of bonsai. It produces specialized knives of all shapes and sizes for all manner of uses such as for preparing squid or tuna, for opening oysters or crabs, or for cutting lettuce, carrots or garlic. For the domestic and international market, it produces precision machine parts, pliers, scissors, chisels and planes, kitchenware, axes, trowels, stylish outdoor camping goods and finely crafted drinking vessels for the region’s famous sake.
[Japan House London]
Japanese Nails
Biology of Metal: Metal Craftsmanship in Tsubame-Sanjo
(September – October 2018)
The production of durable nails for timber-frame architecture in the early 17th century was the beginning of the metalworking industry in the Tsubame-Sanjo area. The industry flourished as the ever-increasing demand for building materials grew in the Shogun's city, Edo (present-day Tokyo). With the growth in popularity of building styles from outside Japan from the 19th century onwards, however, the need for so-called 'Japanese nails' almost disappeared. There is now only one nail blacksmith in Tsubame-Sanjo. The technology required to produce high-quality nails has now been applied to the production of highly durable tent pegs.
BIOLOGY OF METAL: METAL CRAFTSMANSHIP IN TSUBAME-SANJO presents an illustration of how craftsmanship and small industry are embedded in tradition, embrace the new, and adapt in a changing society. It is inspired by the Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival (Kouba no Saiten) initiative, a form of ‘factory open house’ held every year at the beginning of October in Tsubame-Sanjo.
Tsubame-Sanjo is an area in the northern Japanese prefecture of Niigata. It is known for the precision and skill of the craftspeople from its numerous small metalworking factories and workshops manufacturing a huge variety of products. It produces the majority of all of present-day Japan’s cutlery, its businesses have developed ultra fine metal-polishing techniques, and the area boasts a centuries-old ‘Living National Treasure’ copperware manufacturing tradition.
Tsubame Sanjo is the only area in Japan to produce all cutting tools, numbering over 60 kinds, used in the creation of bonsai. It produces specialized knives of all shapes and sizes for all manner of uses such as for preparing squid or tuna, for opening oysters or crabs, or for cutting lettuce, carrots or garlic. For the domestic and international market, it produces precision machine parts, pliers, scissors, chisels and planes, kitchenware, axes, trowels, stylish outdoor camping goods and finely crafted drinking vessels for the region’s famous sake.
[Japan House London]