Craft a Mamezara Plate at a Longstanding Kyoto Ironmongery, with Incense Burner

A Longstanding Ironmongery Bearing a Heritage of Living History

Metal hardware wholesaler Kawacho was founded in 1751 on Kyoto’s Matsubara Street, where once gathered the artisans that undergirded the old capital’s rich court culture. Founder and first-generation artisan Chobei Kawachiya decided to hang his shop curtain in this bustling milieu, where even today there is no shortage of surviving heritage shops.

Decorative Kawacho fittings for such furniture as chests and dressing tables, showcasing intricate and beautiful designs

Once, Kawacho primarily dealt in decorative metal fittings for such items as furniture, tea ceremony utensils, and Buddhist altars – pursuing functional beauty. Today, the shop also handles construction hardware for buildings, displays, and traditional crafts. It supplies these to shrines, temples, architectural firms, and the workshops of other artisans all over Japan, with a focus on Kyoto.

The gallery entrance, opening into a stylish space capitalizing on the beauty of the color black

The venue of this experience is the Kyokarasu Gallery, developed by Kawacho as a place of community that fosters connection and interpersonal development. Deep inside the workshop lies a hideaway space where guests can immerse themselves in the craft process amidst a truly extraordinary atmosphere.

A Copper Mamezara Hammered into Shape by Your Own Hand

Your direct instructor is a veteran craftsman of decorative metal fittings for shrines and temples – a unique learning opportunity only possible thanks to Kawacho’s close long-standing relationships. The artisan will begin with a talk about these fittings, the traditional techniques behind them, and the current state of the industry. You’re sure to develop a new appreciation for the intricacy and skill behind the roofs and ornamentation of shrines and temples, religious implements, and the sacred mikoshi festival palanquins whose beauty is so easy to look at without thought to the work behind it.

The artisan demonstrates while talking through key points, providing an impressive display of hammering technique

After the talk, it’s time to try your own hand. Tankin is the name of the hammering technique used to craft these small plates, and tsuchime is the name for the hammering pattern that becomes part of each plate’s unique design.

Hammering causes metal to elongate, which is compensated for by working in a circular pattern from the outside inward. Repeated blows of the hammer leave behind marks that gradually emerge as a distinct pattern – a kind of “fingerprint” of the maker, speaking to the angle and force of each contact. Irregularity and variation here become the individuality of the piece. Work with the craftsman to adjust your balance, perfect the shape of your piece, and polish it to completion. 

Experience using authentic artisanal metalworking tools like hammers, mallets, and the kanadoko anvil

Craft an Incense Burner with the Addition of Metal Fittings Full of Rich Heritage

With a little bit of doing, your completed mamezara can be fashioned into the tray of an incense burner. Choose from a variety of Kawacho’s decorative metal furniture fittings, and arrange them on the plate to hold the incense. Tall fittings are recommended to help the incense stand properly.

A wooden tray filled with a variety of metal fittings, each small but emanating its own unique luster

All that’s left now is the incense itself, which can be inserted into the fittings for burning. No matter what unique combination of fittings you choose, the unity of metal creates a pleasing sense of visual design cohesiveness. Even when not in use to burn incense, the piece lends a subtle gravitas and elegance to any interior.

Elegant incense burners created with simple stacks of decorative fittings

A Kyoto Keepsake, a Vestige of Kawacho Heritage

Take your mamezara and its decorative incense fittings with you after the experience to begin enjoying it as soon as you like. Wabunka guests can also choose five sticks from a curated selection of Kyoto-made incense featuring a variety of scents and colors, as well as receive a commemorative picture scroll depicting the history of Kawacho, its artisans, and its metalworking traditions (printed explanations only available in Japanese). Lighting a stick of incense and perusing the scroll while bathing in its soothing aroma is sure to transport you back to your experience of conversing and hammering metal alongside a professional artisan.

The picture scroll details the history and craftwork of Kawacho (printed explanations only available in Japanese)

As an optional add-on, participants may choose to hand off their copper mamezara to a professional artisan to have it colorized using the traditional ibushi technique, in which the surface of the plate is darkened through oxidation by submersion in a sulfuric solution. Ibushi colorization can be used to create even more depth and mystery by sanding away at oxidized edges or patterning on the plate to expose the original sheen beneath in creative ways.

The picture scroll details the history and craftwork of Kawacho

Participants can also choose to purchase a paulownia wood box – a traditional transport and storage vessel for valuables in Japan since ancient times, and a great option for those planning to give their creation as a gift to a loved one (additional fees apply).

Let an Up-close Brush with the Unique Artisanal Traditions of Kyoto Transport You

These hammered copper mamezara plates embody an elegant simplicity, aging from a vibrant youthful bright metallic sheen to a darker mature luster over time and with use. And they are versatile: use yours as tableware, as a holder for accessories or other small items, or as a tray for incense burning. Each time you lay eyes on the beautiful design you crafted with your own hands, you’re sure to remember your travels in Japan fondly.

One of the joys of copper is the way the texture and color mature and evolve over time

As lifestyles change, countless traditions are in danger of disappearing forever – and artisanal metalworking is one of them. But there is nothing inevitable about this. Experience for yourself the heritage charms of a craft tradition that has long been indispensable to manufacturing in Japan under the guidance of a professional artisan, and let it inspire you. You may just want to learn more.