Tsugaru Nuri (Lacquerware)

Tsugaru Nuri (Tsugaru Lacquerware) is a traditional and honorable artifact of Aomori which began to be produced at the end of the 17^th century. Tsugaru Nuri is basically designed for daily use that almost every household in Tsugaru area has at least 1 piece of Tsugaru Nuri item.

Tsugaru Nuri uses cypress body with cloth winded, and it takes more than 40 hand-made processes to complete such as foundation making, whetting, lacquering and polishing. One proper item takes about 60 days to be completed.

The following photo shows some typical process of chopstick making.



Kara Nuri

Whetting layered lacquer with whetstone, sandpaper or

charcoal,and polishing after some more lacquer layer.



Nanako Nuri

It uses rape seeds for making patterns. While a lacquer

layer is still wet, seeds are spread on the surface,

and removed after a piece gets dried.

Luckily, I had an opportunity to experience one of the processes of making Tsugaru Nuri under the instruction of real Tsugaru Nuri craftsmen. What I experienced seemed the one in the photo above (Kara Nuri).

First of all, I was handed vermillion chopsticks. They looked that just vermillion lacquer was layered, but there lay more than 10 layers with patterns underneath.

I was to whet chopsticks with wet sandpaper. Not to damage the patterns, I had to whet very tenderly.

  

After whetting about 2 minutes, there appeared patterns from underneath.



I completed this process after about an hour, changing sandpapers three times gradually from the coarse one to the fine .

I have to wait for another 1 week to have my own chopsticks to be sent after real craftsman applies the additional finishing lacquer coatings followed by final surface polishing.

This opportunity was carried out in the exhibition of Tsugaru Nuri, and if you’d like to try, please refer to the following places.

“Tsugaru Traditional Art and Craft Store” from aptinet

http://en.aptinet.jp/detail/xmldetail.html?xmlid=00000261

“Tsugaru Neputa-mura Village” from aptinet

http://en.aptinet.jp/detail/xmldetail.html?xmlid=00000211

☆Aomori Sightseeing Guide “aptinet”  http://en.aptinet.jp/

 

People to People Student Ambassador in Aomori - 02

On the third day of their stay in Aomori Prefecture, they visited Inakadate Village, neighboring village to Hirakawa, to see paddy field art.

Five kinds of rice with different leaf of colors, green, red, yellow, white and purple, are used to compose this art.

These are the first arts which can be viewed from the observatory at Inakadate Village Office. This art is in the motif of the Goddess of mercy and the God of Fire.

*There's a live camera at the observatory.
http://121.119.144.160:60019/viewer/live/ja/live.html

The second art, at the Roadside Station Inakadate, shows Seven Gods of Good Fortune on the “Kitamaebune (northern-bound cargo ships sailed from Osaka to Aomori during Edo and Meiji Periods)”.　The students formed human letters saying “P2P (People to People)” in front of the art.

They left Inakadate for Hirosaki, and what they did first in Hirosaki was to make hand-rolled sushi for lunch, and here’s what they made using rice, dried seaweed, mashed and seasoned fish (pink stuff), carrot and spinach.

After having sushi for lunch, they visited “Neputa Mura (Village)”. Neputa Festival is one of the four big summer festivals in Aomori Prefecture. This village is a museum about the festival and also where playing the shamisen can be experienced.

The students got a lecture on playing the shamisen by the national champion of 2011, and after practicing about 40 minutes, they mastered a Japanese song “Sakura”.

After experienced new and old musical instrument, they took part in a quiz rally in Hirosaki Park. They were to answer the questions on Hirosaki such as “How old is the oldest cherry tree in the park?”, “Which city (out of Portland, New York, Los Angeles) is the same latitude as Hirosaki?”.

Hirosaki Castle and a mascot character of Hirosaki  "Takamaru-kun"

The last visit of the day was Chosho-ji Temple in Zenringai.

Chosho-ji is a temple with Bodhisattvas built for Tsugaru Lords. Its Sanmon (main gate), standing 16.2 meters high, was built by the 2nd Lord Nobuhira in 1629. Sanmon is a teaching in Zen Buddhism signifying 'Sangedatsumon' (gate of the three liberation). There are 33 Zen temples along the Zenringai path, with the Zenringai area being designated a national important cultural property.

This article continues to 03.

Aomori Sightseeing Guide "aptinet": http://en.aptinet.jp/

People to People Student Ambassador in Aomori - 01

We had 22 students from the U.S. by People to People Ambassador Program. They spent 5 days in Aomori Prefecture, and experienced heaps of things.

They first visited Hirakawa City where they stayed with Japanese host families. Before they met their host families, they walked around the town viewing old style houses, gardens and warehouses.

On the second day, they enjoyed farming with their host families. They picked various vegetables, mowing the orchard and disbudded of grapes. (I didn’t accompany them on this day.)

Here’s the bulletin sent to my office from Onoe Warehouse Promotion Committee for Preservation, Utilization and Application, the host organization of farm staying. They show photos of farming and of the farewell on the last day in Hirakawa.

The next day, they would go to see the paddy field art in Inakadate Village.

This article continues to 02.

Aomori Sightseeing Guide "aptinet":  http://en.aptinet.jp/

Lee SeoJin’s Ceramic Art Exhibition

Lee SeoJin, a famous actor, and popular both in Korea and Japan had made ceramics in the pottery “Tsugaru Kanayamayaki” in Kanagi area, Goshogawara City.

There was an exhibition of his ceramics in Aomori Museum of Art in February this year.  Many fans who visited the museum then and those who couldn’t, both wished the exhibition to be held again, and there has started 2^nd one in ASPAM, Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center in Aomori City.

As my office is the organizer of the exhibition, I luckily could see the venue before opening.

There are Lee SeoJin’s hand-made ceramics, his photos taken while engrossed in pottery by Cho SeiHon.  You can also watch a video of TV program shot during his stay in Aomori (no Japanese or English subtitles though).

The exhibition is from May 18^th to 27^th at Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center.  To know the details, go to the blog of my co-worker, Floren, http://blog.naver.com/pjs2457.