Takuya Tsutsumi

- speaking as an Urushi producer, as a surfer, and as a father. 

安価大量生産、使い捨ては当たり前の時代。
石油製品が溢れ、欲しい物は何でも手に入る。
そんな時代、漆の製品は現代の生活からかけ離れてしまっている。
確かに便利な世の中だが、本当にそれで良いのだろうか？

便利な反面、知らぬ間に環境に負担をかけているのではないか。
そして「物を大切にする気持ちや、感謝する心」「世代を超えて、永く受け継いでいく」。そんな大事なことが忘れられてはいないだろうか。

私たちは漆屋の立場で改めて考え直し、動き出した。漆屋として、素材そのものが持つ魅力やストーリーを、このプロジェクトを通して新たな形で提案する。
きっと多くの人が共感してくれるはず。新たな価値観が芽生えれば、減りつつある漆を求める声が大きくなる。
木を育てる活動に繋がり、それが漆と、漆の文化を未来につなぐことになる。

漆がまた、生活の一部に入る頃、おのずと環境について考えたり、感謝したり、物を大切にする気持ちが生まれる。
そこには、きっと明るい未来が待っているはず。

私たちは漆にはそんな見えない力があると信じている。

This is an age of mass production and disposable goods. A world overflowing with petroleum-derived goods, and all desires seem possible.
If something breaks throw it away and buy a new one. In such a day and age, the use of urushi is becoming more and more removed from modern life. This is indeed a world of convenience.  But is that really all that matters?

Despite the convenience, don’t we need to be more aware that we are unmindfully stressing the environment? “Treating things with care, appreciation and respect,” “Passing things on to future generations.” These things are so important, yet aren’t they being forgotten?

Those of us involved in urushi production have started to rethink these things, and have started a movement. Through this project we will be presenting in a new form the fascinating appeal, story, and philosophy inherent in urushi, and we believe that there are a great number of people who will then come to understand and feel the same way as we do.  We hope that this will lead to the awakening of a new sense of values, eventually leading to the planting of more lacquer trees, and ensuring the preservation and development of urushi itself, and it’s culture.

At that time when urushi once again becomes part of our daily lives, people learn to think about the environment, and treat things with care, appreciation and respect. A beautiful future awaits that day.

Although invisible to the eye, We believe that Urushi has such power.

プロジェクトのきっかけ
「漆のこと考えていたら、いつしか環境について考えるようになりました」
                                                                  堤淺吉漆店　堤卓也

私自身、サーフィンやスノーボード、海や山で遊び過ごす中、自然の素晴らしさや偉大さを感じるようになった。
子供が産まれてこの楽しさや自然の大切さを子供たち次の世代にも残したいという思いも強くなった。
しかし私たち人間は、何気ない日常生活の中で知らぬ間に地球を汚し、自然環境を悪化させている。
私たちは地球が回復するよりはるかに早いスピードで地球を消費している。

大きなことは出来ないが、今自分たちに出来ることは何か？と考えるようになった。

漆屋として日々接する漆。

天然素材である漆には様々な魅力がある。
完成された漆製品が美しいのは言うまでもないが、私はその素材としての魅力に引き込まれた一人。
古く縄文から使われ続けてきた漆。
その素材の持つ魅力を、漆屋の観点から伝えることが、自然の大切さを見つめ直すことにつながり、地球環境保全を考える良いきっかけになるはずだと考えるようになった。

「木を植え、育て、採取する」。
樹液である漆は、この循環を壊さなければ枯渇しない循環可能な地球に優しい資源。
その漆を精製するのが私たち漆屋の仕事。
日々の温度湿度に大きく左右され、まさに自然と向き合いながら漆は出来上がる。
そこが、天然塗料故の難しさであり面白さでもある。
そして漆が作り出す独特の塗膜は、しっとりと人の肌に馴染み、使い込むことで味わい深い艶や風合いになっていく。
物によっては傷も一つの味となり、劣化する様も美しく、カッコいい。傷んだり、壊れても修復して繰り返し使う。

天然だからこそ、木も一本一本個性があるし、使い手によって十人十色の思い出が出来る。
漆は、木を植え、育てるところから、使い込んで、塗り替え、また使い続けるところまで、全てのシーンに物語がある。

こうした漆の天然素材としての魅力やストーリー性は、自然の中で遊び、暮らす人々に共感してもらえるのではないか。
そこから新たな価値観が芽生え、漆と漆の文化を守ることに繋がっていくのではないかと考えるようになった。

Project Inspiration

“Thinking about Urushi, at some point in time I found myself thinking about the environment.”
– Takuya Tsutsumi, Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi Co. Ltd.

While spending my leisure time at the sea and in the mountains, enjoying my favorite pastimes of surfing and snowboarding, I gradually began to feel how great and wonderful nature actually was.  With the birth of my first child, I also realized more and more that I wanted both to teach the children of the world to enjoy and appreciate nature, and insure that we would be leaving them and all future generations with a healthy environment and the understanding of just how important and essential nature really is.

Although unintentional and without awareness, we human beings are polluting the earth and damaging the environment as we go about our daily lives.  We are consuming our world’s resources much faster than they can be replenished and restored.  I have come to feel that there must be something we can do, regardless of how great or small.  As an urushi producer, I believe that teaching the world about the advantages and benefits of naturally produced lacquer, refined into Urushi, will provide a unique opportunity to reconsider the importance of nature and environmental preservation.

As a natural material, urushi has great appeal.  It has been used and loved since the Jomon period 10,000 years ago.  Although it goes without saying that a finished piece of lacquerware is truly a thing of beauty, in fact I have always been captivated by the exquisite charm and beauty of urushi as a raw material.

Lacquer trees are planted, raised, and harvested.  As long as this production cycle is preserved, Urushi is a self-sustaining and environmentally friendly natural resource.  It is the job of those of us involved in urushi production to collect the sap of the lacquer trees and refine it into urushi.  Greatly influenced by the daily fluctuations in temperature and humidity, urushi is created only by working closely with nature herself, and indeed it is this unique characteristic as a natural coating material which makes the production of urushi simultaneously so difficult, and yet so interesting.

With use, the inimitable coating film of the Urushi develops a deeply refined luster and texture which exudes a warm sense of intimacy when in contact with the skin.  Furthermore, ageing and the marks of normal wear provide still another layer of aesthetic charm, and if damaged, urushi can be repaired over and over again for continued use and enjoyment.

As with all things in the natural world, each individual lacquer tree is different and unique, producing sap that is also as individually distinctive as the parent tree.  When worked by the individual skills and techniques of the artisans, urushi produces myriad combinations of beauty as diverse and distinctive as the individual snowflakes of a pristine winter landscape.

From the planting and raising of each lacquer tree, to the harvesting and refinement processes, to the working and forming by the artisans, and ultimately to the continued use through maintenance, restoration and repair, urushi is much like an anthology comprising stories from each stage of its evolution.  

This is the basis of its fascinating appeal, and understanding has always been the foundation for a new sense of value.  In the case of urushi, as more and more people become aware of its existence, learn its story, and understand its meaning and worth, it is only natural that they will develop the same interest in getting out to enjoy nature, and the same appreciation for how nature pervades our daily lives, ultimately leading to the preservation and development of urushi itself, and its culture.