Visiting craftsmen – Tokyo Silverware The maker of Tokyo silverware grown up surrounded by a family of craftsmen

Tokyo Silverware: Yoshitsugu Kamikawa

Tokyo Ginki began in the middle of the Edo period when a silverware craftsman called Shiroganesi and a decorator called a metalworker appeared.

It is said that the reason why craftsmen grew up in Edo was because it was the existence of Ginza, a goldenza that makes money, and the political economy and culture where daimyo gather.

How did you get into this world?

I first touched silverware when I was two years old.

Mr. Kamikawa’s house has been active as a craftsman of Tokyo Silverware from generation to generation. In the meantime, Kamikawa grew up when he was two years old, sitting on the lap of his grandfather, who was living at the time, listening to the pleasant sound of hitting silver.

The old man said that mr. Kamikawa disappeared when he was three years old, but the sound of the old man still beating the silver remains in his body, and he hears it over and over again with the sound of hitting the silver.

The eldest son of the Kamikawa family. That’s why I think

Mr. Kamikawa, who had been in contact with Tokyo Silverware since he was a child, said that if he continued to work at home, he thought that he might become a person who did not know the world at all, and after graduating from school, he got a job at another metal industry company instead of his parents’ home.

Since I was employed in a dormitory, I went back and forth between my company and the dormitory. Still, at first, I was assigned to the metal processing department, so I immersed myself in the world.

However, because the space came out to the general affairs department immediately, it moved to the general affairs, and in addition, it was moved to the Human Resources Department because the space came out to the Human Resources Department this time.

In a different job

In the company that entered because he wanted to know the site of manufacturing, he gradually left the site, and he began to feel uncomfortable in Mr. Kamikawa.

He also said that he was convinced that he still likes to make things.

Meanwhile, mother broke down, and it chose the road to leave the company at the turning point and to take the family business of the parents’ house.

Popular Tokyo Silverware products with a lot of responses

Confectionary Cutting

Confectionary cut made by hand one by one. Silver also has the characteristic that things do not attract, and it shows a beautiful appearance even if you cut yokan.

The best gem when you do a little

Ice Spoon

This spoon is also made by hand one by one.

Silver conveys the temperature and is cheap, so holding a spoon transmits body temperature, and the hardened ice cream can be moderately melted and scooped.

bangle

This is also a bangle made by hand one by one.

In the past, they used to make something that was a little aggressive, but now they try to design modestly that will come perfectly when applied.

The commitment when making is “ease of use”

I’m particular about even one gussing drink.

Are you particular about making it for Kamikawa-san? When I asked him, he replied that it was easy to use.

Objects made of silver can continue to be used semi-permanently. That’s why it is necessary to devise ways that you want to continue using it for a long time.

For example, the commitment to drinking as in the picture is “drinking mouth”. When I put my mouth on, I give a finish that feels comfortable.

In addition, the outside is patterned, but the inside is polished to shine. Silver has the property of high reflectivity. By polishing it to a shiny, the liquid inside is reflected and looks more delicious.

Mr. Kamikawa puts these commitments into each piece.

In order to continue to make

Making things is not just about your own.

Finally, when I asked Mr. Kamikawa what kind of things he would like to make in the future, he said that he had not yet set up a vision of such a thing.

They make things at their parents’ homes, sometimes interact with customers, and inspiration and ideas come to mind. I thought that it might be good to have such a product at a moment’s moment, and a customer who saw what I actually made said, “I want something like this”.

He said that it would be fun to create new products while doing so.

For example, I only thought that the “ice spoon” I put out earlier and the hard ice cream could be easily eaten at first, but it was said that the possibility of the product expanded because customers were told that they wanted to use it as a baby spoon.

In addition, while talking with craftsmen who are making other crafts, he said that it is the most fun now that the possibilities expand more and more by interacting with people, such as trying to make collaboration products.

Tokyo Silverware seems to be expanding even more, including Mr. Kamikawa.

Finally…

Mr. Kamikawa, who was interviewed this time, was exhibiting at the special exhibition “TOKYO Craftsman Exhibition” held from August 26 to August 31.

I usually make things at my parents’ home, Nisshin Kikinzoku Co., Ltd. Here, you can actually experience it, so if you are worried, why not contact us and make a reservation?