Traditional Copper-Hammering Workshop in Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata: Craft a Plate, Spoon, or Bangle with a Master Coppersmith

Hammered Copperware Born in Tsubame’s Metalworking Country

The Tsubame-Sanjo area is known throughout Japan for its metalworking industry – to this day, some 90% of the cutlery manufactured in Japan is made here. Among the most distinctive of these traditions is Tsubame tsuiki doki, a variety of hand-hammered copperware that raises a flat sheet of copper into a three-dimensional vessel through heating and repeated hammering. In fact the name “tsuiki doki” literally means “copperware awoken by hammering.”

The craft of tsuiki doki is said to have taken root here in the Edo period (1603–1867). Copper from mines dug into Mount Yahiko fed it the raw materials that allowed it to flourish, originally centered around rustic kitchen tools for everyday life like kettles and pots. As it developed, it also began to yield more refined decorative products like tea utensils, sake vessels, and other objects combining strength, aesthetic appeal, and practicality.

One of the major appeals of copperware is the striking and handsome way it ages, with its surface deepening in color and luster through repeated handling and care throughout the years. This is an aesthetic that embodies the Japanese spirit of wabi-sabi, prizing a rugged but graceful aging throughout the years rather than the pristine but fleeting lustre of the brand-new. Copper implements mature with their owners. They’re also rooted in another Japanese aesthetic philosophy, so-called “yo-no-bi,” or the “beauty of practicality.”

The Philosophy in Craft of Yasutaka Ohashi: Bringing Metal to Life through Form

This private experience is overseen by Yasutaka Ohashi, a local tsuiki doki craftsman. Since forging his own path as a master artisan after a ten-year period of apprenticeship and journeyman copperworking, Ohashi has continued the traditional approach of ikkan seisaku – end-to-end production in which one craftsperson carries out all the steps of the full process by hand from scratch. Ohashi seeks to create works to not only be appreciated for their beauty, but to be enjoyed for their usefulness in day-to-day life.

Ohashi’s connection to the craft began early in life. Both his father and other local relatives worked in the city’s copperware production, and he has memories of visiting workshops and being struck by the way useful objects could emerge seemingly fully-formed from the blank canvas of a single sheet of metal. That early impression still shapes his work today.

Ohashi’s knowledge extends far beyond making new pieces. He believes “a tool’s value comes from its use,” and also makes it his business to be deeply familiar with not only the usage of what he makes, but their maintenance and repairs as well. In this experience, he invites you to feel that philosophy directly: to focus on crafting an item for use with your own hands as you envision its future life.

Ishise House: Ohashi’s Copper-hammering Workshop

The experience begins at the workshop space Ishise no ie, named for its surrounding Ishise neighborhood. Located in a tranquil neighborhood near Mount Yahiko and Iwamuro Onsen, the spacious traditional-style house stands amid sprawling fields, permeated with the atmosphere of a slower lifestyle far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city. It’s the perfect place to focus and enter a meditative flow state without distraction.

Enjoy a tour of the workshop with Ohashi before he begins his introduction to tsuiki doki, its tools, and the copper used in it. Ohashi explains how hammering stretches and tightens the metal, how it raises a flat sheet into a three-dimensional object, and how it finally gives it a completed form.

You might be surprised to discover that working copper is quite different from forging iron or steel in that it does not require repeated heating during the hammering process. Before the workshop, Ohashi softens the metal through heating, a process called annealing. Annealing makes copper more ductile and workable even after it has cooled. Unlike iron, it can then be easily cold-hammered into shape, handled easily in the process without worry about burns.

*Please note that the instructor may be either Mr. Ohashi or one of his apprentices.

A Unique Kozara Plate, Spoon, or Bangle All Your Own

During the hands-on hammering experience, each guest crafts a single item: a kozara small plate, a spoon, or a bangle. You can make your choice on the day, and guests in the same group are free to each select different options – a luxury in such artisanal craft experience. Couples, families, and groups of friends can all enjoy the craft copper hammering experience together without worrying about compromising to arrive at consensus on personal preference.

Hammer the copper from its raw sheetmetal form to its complete final shape. This is a process where focus is paramount, but prior craft experience is not at all necessary. With Ohashi’s guidance and attentive support, even absolute beginners to hand-crafting can enjoy the sound of the hammer against the metal and the gradual metamorphosis of the shape and surface texture of their piece.

After shaping your piece, follow Ohashi’s guidance to finish and polish it yourself. Large professional copper vessels can take days of hammering and shaping, followed by up to an hour of final polishing. But for this experience, Ohashi has scaled the project so that guests can complete their item and take it home with them on the day.

Value in Use: Giving Your Copperware Life with an Optional Lunch at Kappo Konoha（Additional Option）

For guests who select the lunch option, the experience continues with a Wabunka-exclusive lunch at Kappo Konoha, a traditional local restaurant in the Ishise area beloved by locals for its cozy atmosphere and lovingly-crafted dishes of traditional fare. If you made a spoon or kozara small plate in the copper-hammering experience, this is a perfect opportunity to put your handmade copperware to immediate use as you delight in traditional seasonal Niigata ingredients.

This Wabunka-exclusive partnership with Yasutaka Ohashi and Kappo Konoha is a deep dive into authentic local culture that is sure to stick with you and one of the high points of your visit to Niigata Prefecture on the coast of the Sea of Japan. Take home the feeling of creation, the sound of the hammer, the joy of discovery, and the delight of mouthwatering traditional seasonal local fare as a memory cast in copper.

The optional daytime meal at Kappo Konoha will feature Niigata ingredients and traditional cooking methods (drinks are not included in the experience fee).

*Please note that other guests may also be dining in the restaurant during lunch.

*Please note that the optional lunch may not be available due to the restaurant’s irregular closing schedule. If you wish to add the lunch option, please select it when making your reservation. After your booking is confirmed, we will notify you whether the lunch can be arranged. If it is unavailable, the optional lunch fee will be refunded.

A Physical Memory of Niigata, Formed by Your Own Hand

This experience is a rare private invitation into the world of Tsubame copperwork craft through its tools, its techniques, and its history - guided by a craftsman who understands it intimately. Through theory and technique alike, Ohashi reveals how raw copper becomes something sturdy, useful, and beautiful.

Be it plate, spoon, or bangle, the finished copper piece guests take home at the end is more than a souvenir. Take home the feelings and sensations of the workshop with you -- the very spirit of Niigata’s long metalworking tradition — hammered into a lasting and useful shape through your own work. And just as any precious memory, the longer you hold onto it, the richer you will see it grow over time.