{"id":1410,"date":"2014-03-05T11:30:32","date_gmt":"2014-03-05T02:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ginzaofficial.sakura.ne.jp\/?p=1410"},"modified":"2015-05-28T19:01:00","modified_gmt":"2015-05-28T10:01:00","slug":"%e5%ae%89%e8%97%a4-%e9%87%8d%e5%b9%b8x%e9%ab%98%e5%b6%8b-%e3%81%a1%e3%81%95%e5%ad%90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ginza.jp\/en\/connective\/1410","title":{"rendered":"Shigeyuki Ando\u00d7Chisako Takashima"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ginza is a branch shop \u2014 the main shop is in Nagoya.<\/h4>\n
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Takashima<\/dt>\n
Thank you for talking with me today. Let me start by saying that my sister used to make cloisonne ware. When I called my mother this morning and told her I was going to see you today, she said, \u201cThat place is truly amazing.\u201d<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
She is too kind. What kind of cloisonne pieces did your sister make?<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
As a hobby, she made things like ornaments for kimonos and bag hooks.<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Is that so? Cloisonne can be enjoyed in many ways, from hobby to artisan level. We also sell bag hangers. People may think cloisonne is very expensive, but the pieces we sell range widely from those you can buy easily at only a few thousand yen to more expensive items.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Please tell me all about it. You\u2019re the president of the Tokyo shop. Tokyo is a branch shop?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Yes. Many people think the shop in Ginza is the main shop, but the main shop is actually the one in Nagoya.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
I love Nagoya! The food is delicious, so when a musician gets asked to play there, they immediately say yes (laughs). Are you from Nagoya?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Yes. I was born and raised in Nagoya. My father is still actively running the main shop as its president, so I left him in charge there and moved here in my early 30s.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
That\u2019s amazing that the Ginza shop is just a branch.<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Most Ginza shops are main branches, so it is certainly rare. Aichi Prefecture is famous for its crafts, with earthenware and Tokoname ceramics in addition to cloisonne ware.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
The business was founded over 130 years ago. How old is the Tokyo shop?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
The Ginza shop opened in 1890. Before opening the cloisonne shop there, it was a tobacco pipe shop. The decorative part of the pipe is made of metal fittings and silverwork, so the cloisonne business was started to make those parts. My great-grandfather\u2019s brother-in-law turned it into a specialty cloisonne ware shop in 1880. Ten years later, in 1890, he went to Ginza in search of a larger market.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Was it located here from the start?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
No, it actually started in a rental house in front of where Matsuya is currently located. But Nagoya people have a strong desire to do business in a shop they own personally, so the current place was purchased and the shop was moved here.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
This building is very big. Is it completely devoted to cloisonne ware?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
The shop is only on the first and second floors, and the third floor is our office. The rest is rented out to tenants.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Sounds like a pretty good deal (laughs).<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
I have to be very grateful to my past relatives.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n
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Perhaps because Empress Michiko likes cloisonne, orders are also filled for the Imperial household.<\/h4>\n
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Takashima<\/dt>\n
How do you make cloisonne ware?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Today I\u2019m going to brief you on the entire process until completion. From its appearance, many people think it is porcelain, but it is actually made from metal. Almost all is made from copper plate.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Really? I had no idea. Doesn\u2019t it break?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
It actually doesn\u2019t. Sometimes it gets small cracks in it, but it does not break.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
How does copper plate get such vivid colors?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
We use an enamel-like material. Cloisonne is precious metal decorated with glass. For the primary example, you first add a white glaze to get rid of the redness of the copper. Then you hand paint flowers and other designs.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Interesting\u2026 On this piece, the outline of the design is raised up.<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
This is because the lines are laid on by placing ribbons of it along a sketch of the design so they stand up vertically.<\/dd>\n
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Takashima<\/dt>\n
That is incredible. You would have to be extremely dexterous!<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Yes. You have to lay the lines with tweezers and scissors. They are tacked in place with a paste made by dissolving powdered orchid bulb in hot water.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Ah, my husband would be good at that. He is really dexterous (laughs). What is the next step?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Colored glass that has been pulverized into a powder is used as the paint to fill the compartments between the lines. Red is put in the red compartments, pink in the pink ones, and so on until they are all filled with color, and then the piece is fired.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
And these steps are all repeated.<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Yes, exactly. When done only once, the color sinks down after firing, so colors have to be lain the same way 2 or 3 times until they reach the height of the lines. After firing, the surface becomes slightly uneven, so it has to be polished. First, it is smoothed down with a sandstone, then polished with oxidized tin or carbon to bring back the shine.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
What a complicated art. It takes patience, like the people who draw pictures on grains of rice. I had no idea cloisonne ware required such complex techniques.<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
We have not advertised enough, and many people do not know about it.<\/dd>\n
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Takashima<\/dt>\n
You also receive orders from the Imperial household?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Yes. In 1900, we were made purveyors to the Imperial Household Agency, but this system no longer exists, so now we simply fill orders we have received from the supplies department of the Agency.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Amazing. What types of items do you deliver there?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
The members of the Imperial family each have a special emblem that is a symbol used to represent their own things. For example, we have made a jewel box decorated with a white birch of Japan that is the emblem of Empress Michiko and we have made sets of cherry blossom decorated serving plates. These are given as gifts during official business with the Imperial household within and outside Japan.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
How much do the most expensive cloisonne ware pieces cost?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
We have pieces from the Meiji era in Nagoya made with very advanced techniques that are used as models for our craftspersons. They are not priced, but considering the time and effort that would have been required at the time, they would be in the range of tens of millions of yen.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Really? That much!<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Yes. At the Ginza shop, we recently made a cloisonne Globe that is almost 9 million yen, so if the piece is really complex, the price can run quite high. Cloisonne is different from gems like diamonds, gold or silver in that the price is not intrinsic \u2014 the time and effort that went into making it is what is paid for, so when pieces are really expensive, it shows just how much time went into it by a very accomplished artisan.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
You are paying for the skills and the time. It is a wonderful craft that Japan can be proud of.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

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We have received orders for cloisonne watches and car emblems.<\/h4>\n
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Takashima<\/dt>\n
By the way, is cloisonne written as \u201cseven treasures\u201d (in Japanese) because it is fired seven times?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
No, not exactly. It was originally named \u201cseven treasures\u201d because its beauty is comparable to the Seven Treasures that is a Buddhist phrase referring to gold, silver, pearls, azure and so on.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Ah, I see. There is so much I don\u2019t know, even as a Japanese person. <\/p>\n

Do you make cloisonne yourself?<\/dd>\n

Ando<\/dt>\n
No, not at all. I\u2019ve tried to before, but I realized it wasn\u2019t meant for me (laughs). It\u2019s best to leave the world of artisans to the artisans. In fact, the founder established the brand J. Ando, but even he didn\u2019t make the products himself. He was just the director. This is my excuse \u2014 because he didn\u2019t do it either (laughs).<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
In addition to Japanese items, do you also get orders for Western-style items?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Yes, recently we\u2019ve been asked to make things like watches and car emblems. For watches, we made the clock faces of Seiko\u2019s Credor series with cloisonne ware.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
How many have you made?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Only 20. An aesthetic property of cloisonne is that each one differs slightly. So it is extremely difficult to make it fit perfectly as a clock face.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
I apologize for coming back to money again and again, but how much does one cost?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
About 4 million yen. Of course the products are very high quality in all aspects of a watch in addition to the cloisonne part.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Wow, that much for just one watch! The smaller it is, the more difficult to make. What about the car emblems?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
We were asked by someone who wanted to attach it to their classic car as their unique style.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
I\u2019m sure it\u2019s because you can make each and every piece with a custom design that you get such orders. Where are the craftspersons?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
We have 10 in Nagoya. The art will disappear if we don\u2019t keep it going, so we recently brought in some young craftspersons in their 20s and 30s and are focusing on passing on the techniques.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Yes, as a Japanese person, I certainly want this technology to be inherited.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n
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Much can be learned in Ginza that has deep social relationships.<\/h4>\n
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Takashima<\/dt>\n
You are one of the people that manages this Ginza website. So how about it? Is there anything you want to tell me (laughs)?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Sure (laughs). Even though I\u2019m involved in the website, I still always enjoy reading its articles. I\u2019ve been involved since the beginning, but I had no idea at the time that I would actually be a guest in this series (laughs).<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
Do you often socialize with other Ginza people?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
When I first came over, I had almost no acquaintances in Ginza. Then I was introduced to the Ginza Merchant\u2019s Association and invited to join. Through that, I met many people and they helped me out. I am very grateful for this community.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
You also take part in things like Tohoku relief activities?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Yes, the other day I went with some Ginza people to an area that had been destroyed. Going there, I learned that many people are less interested in simply receiving support and more in reviving their business activities, and sensed that it is very important to visit Tohoku, eat the local foods and help revitalize the area. I\u2019m very glad I went there for myself.<\/dd>\n
Takashima<\/dt>\n
You do all sorts of activities with the Ginza community. Social relationships run very deep in Ginza.<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
Yes. Of course business is important as the task right in front of you, but you can learn quite a lot from incorporating a broader view, meeting people and hearing different ideas and thoughts about Ginza. That is another reason I am glad I came here.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n
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The next guest will be\u2026<\/h4>\n
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Takashima<\/dt>\n
Could you tell us about the next guest?<\/dd>\n
Ando<\/dt>\n
It\u2019s Yukichi Ishikura, the president of Tsubame Grill, a restaurant that makes delicious \u201cTsubame-style\u201d hamburger steak. Please listen to his secrets and requirements for continuing to make delicious cuisine for so many years.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n
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Chisako Takashima<\/h4>\n

Violinist. Started playing the violin at age 6. After playing abroad, she moved her home base to Japan, and gives concerts all over the country. Although her current focus is on performing music, she also appears on TV and radio programs. Thanks to her much-loved personality, she is appearing in more and more venues.<\/p>\n

Chisako Takashima\u2019s official website<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Shigeyuki Ando<\/h4>\n

President of the Tokyo shop of Ando Cloisonne that was founded in 1880. Manages the Ginza branch of the long-standing shop that is known as a purveyor to the Imperial Household Agency and is famous for its advanced techniques in cloisonne, a craft that is a pride of Japan. Also involved in management of this website.
\nEnjoys cooking in his free time and often exercises his skills for his family on days off.<\/p>\n

Website for Ando Cloisonne<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Writer: Mizuho Takahashi\u3000\u3000\u3000Interview location: Ando Cloisonne Tokyo shop<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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