Edo Crafts

■ Traditional Technologies and Techniques

1 - Line sketching of lettering: 文字の素描き
Japanese characters are applied in outline to lanterns using a menso-fude 面相筆 (a fine-point brush). This is done by following a rough sketch outline drawn in advance. (The method for doing this was developed in the 1750s).

2 - Line sketching of family crest(s): 家紋の素描き
Family crest(s) are painted on lanterns in outline using a menso-fude 面相筆. This is done by following a rough sketch outline drawn in advance. (The method for doing this was developed in the 1750s).

3 - Painting in: 塗り込み
Outlined characters and crests are painted in. If thin or diluted ink is being used, dosa どうさ液 (a protective liquid called "sizing" in English) is also applied to prevent smearing. (The method for doing this was developed in the 1750s).

■ Traditionally Used Raw Materials
Hibukuro chochin (literally "fire bag lanterns"):
These lanterns are hung up by themselves (without a pole). The skeleton (ribbing) of the lantern is made of bamboo, the covering over the skeleton is made of washi (traditional Japanese paper). ) Takahari chochin and other types: Takahari chochin are parade lanterns that are hung from long poles. They have been used since the 1700s.
火袋高張提灯等（１７００年代から使用）

■ History and Characteristics
It is recognized that in the Muromachi Period (1337-1573), the earliest examples of Chochin lanterns were being used at the start of the 16th century during the Bunki Era (1501-1504). The lanterns used then were said to be kago-chochin 籠提灯 (lanterns inside bamboo baskets). Prototypes of what would later become the modern collapsible chochin are believed to have been created during the Tenbun Era (1532-1555). During the following Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573-1596), chochin adopted the form of a skeleton of thin split-bamboo hoops covered by paper. Such lanterns came equipped with a flat base for housing a candle. This design resulted in lanterns that could be expanded and collapsed at will. Chochin use subsequently became widespread during the Edo Period (1603-1868).

From the mid Edo Period onward, a great number of craftsmen skilled in calligraphy and brushwork resided in Edo's Asakusa district. Wholesaling systems were developed in the Meiji Era (1868-1912), this resulted in a growing division of tasks between chochin production processes and character/crest decoration processes. Even today, some Tokyo craftsmen make a living based on writing Japanese characters on finished hibukuro 火袋 ("fire bag lanterns"). The Japanese characters written on chochin are generally referred to as being in the Edo moji style (the Edo lettering style), and such chochin calligraphers also prepare senjafuda, slips of paper bearing pilgrim names that are affixed to the gates of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Although lettering is written inside an outlined area on senjafuda 千社札, chochin lack such restrictions. This leads to a slightly more free-flowing calligraphy style. Furthermore, painting family crests on chochin differs from applying them to kimono, in that the former are painted in black ink on a white background. Crests are painted in a way that facilitates visibility from a distance, and unique methods are utilized to achieve a balanced appearance.

Tokyo Paper Lantern Manufacturing Guild
7-7-2 Minamisenju, Arakawa Ward, Tokyo
- source : www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.jp

. choochin 提灯 lanterns of Japan .

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. shokunin 　職人 craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

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Edo - the EDOPEDIA -

8/14/2014

Edo Crafts

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