How did Shinohara become an Edo-style wind-bell maker?

Have you thought of becoming a wind-bell maker from an early age?

 
 No. I was reluctant to help my parents to do the job when I was a child. When I was a junior high school student, I really did not like to do so. But from the time when I was a high school student, I began to think that I had to help my family to some extent. Because when I came back home and saw my parents, they worked until 8 or 9 p. m., and until midnight in summer.
 

What made you decide to leave the company and became an Edo-style wind-bell maker?

 
 I have helped my parents since my junior high school days. But I thought both my brother and I did not need to take over the job, so I became employed. However, they lived in the same house, and they still worked when I came back home. They worked without stopping until midnight. I thought many things before starting this job. I felt that I did not need to help the company when my family was too busy working, so I left the company.
 

What do you think about a craftsman's job?

 
 I have liked craftsmen because they often came to my house, and I saw my parents working hard. I have thought that, even if I do not take this job, I would be a craftsman eventually. So I feel comfortable with being a craftsman. Conversely, I wanted to be a craftsman.
 

Shinohara's works

How many wind-bells do you make a year?

 

 I shape glass and draw pictures on it, so I make approximately 12,000 wind-bells. Also, there are 3 assistants who attach strings and pack wind-bells in boxes. But I shape glass and draw pictures by myself, making approximately 12,000 wind-bells.
 

How many variations of designs are there?

 
 There are infinite variations because I can draw anything. When I have enough time, I make what I am asked to make.
 

Why have you made many original products?

 
 I went abroad to show my works at a Japan fair. That experience made me to make original works. Overseas, it is not the custom to display wind-bells outside, but place them indoors. A story I heard from a tatami maker at the same Japan fair also prompted me to make original works. He said that people overseas bought just 1 meter of tatami's border part, and wrapped it around their waist or wore it in their hair. It seems that they wonder why Japanese use such a beautiful item only for tatami. After hearing that story, I thought that, if there are good wares, it is better to use them differently without sticking to the tradition, so I made pierced earrings and straps.
 

Do you have any other new ideas?

 
 Most wind-bells have been bought by older people. Young people have hardly bought them. So I made new wind-bells, such as a lily-shaped wind-bell that I thought was small, cheap and cute. I have also made desktop wind-bells that can be placed indoors because nowadays there are not so many houses that have eaves.
 

 
What does an an Edo-style wind-bell maker mean to Shinohara?
 

What does this job mean to you?

 

 It is also important to preserve the skills to make Edo-style wind-bells and pass the traditional skills and designs, which been handed down in my family, to the next generation. I am not doing this job for pleasure, so I make products which please customers and for which they say that "The products are worth buying." Also, I can make a living by selling them. If I am the only one who is satisfied, it is a hobby. My job is to make products which can be purchased for reasonable prices and satisfy customers. Wind-bells are products that are not purchased because of low prices. Frankly, I am doing this job in order to make a living. But, in addition to that, the best thing is to please customers. This job makes it possible. Now I strive to make products for which as many people as possible say "Wonderful!" I am also happy if I can give people a feeling of happiness. I want to make products about which people say that "This is a professional work." Also, I want to make new wind-bells while preserving the environment.