Mikoshi is a beautiful miniature shrine carried by strong men at traditional festivals. We visited MIYAMOTO UNOSUKE SHOTEN to see how ecological philosophy was reflected on this craftwork.
Since its establishment in 1861 during the EDO period, Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten has always been the partner of Japanese Festivals. Mikoshi is made by natural materials (wood, lacquer and gold coating) and once made, lasts for generations.
Wood for the main structure will be air-dried for three years, and cracked ones will be used for smaller parts, leaving only a small amount of waste.
The craftsmen express this as "let the wood wriggle as much as it wants to". Even if you use technology to dry the wood without cracking, it will crack anyway in the following years. Then why not let it do so in the beginning? The building process takes about a year. No nails are used for the main structure, just like old architecture. Instead of chemical paint, they glue in colored linen cloth using URUSHI (lacquer made from plants) to express the shiny colors.
Mikoshi will be overhauled every 30 years reusing over 90% original material. It is an amazing sight how they dissolve and rebuild the wooden pieces.
The high quality craftsmanship makes us think twice about mass production and mass disposal.
Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten Website
(only in Japanese. Shop is at Asakusa.)
http://www.miyamoto-unosuke.co.jp/
2 comments:
this is cool. i'm planning a trip to tokyo next month. can we just pop by? couldn't find their address on website though...
Thank you Jin, the address of Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten is 6-1-15 Asakusa Taito-ku, Tokyo. About 10 minutes walk from Asakusa Station. Enjoy your stay!
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