How did Akatsuka become a tortoiseshell craftsman?

Could you tell me why you became a tortoiseshell craftsman?

 

 I was just succeeding the family business. I was planning on doing so from the beginning, but my father was never positive about it, that he always had the thought that I should go out into the world first. And even after I had seen the world and was still willing to take over him, that I can do so. I had graduated from a college, and at that time, I thought I should find a stable job, but for me, I had always wanted to make things and do manufacturing, I chose this job naturally.
 

Edo-style Tortoiseshell crafts

About Edo-style Tortoiseshell crafts?

 
 Basically, I make eyeglasses that had been made from my previous generations. I often do repairs too.
 

Are there any differences between the goods from Edo and other areas?

 
 There is none right now. There could have been in the past. In the Edo period, the areas that were manufacturing the tortoise shell products were what would now be called Tokyo, Nagasaki, and Osaka. There were these top three producing areas then, and in Nagasaki, people made products that foreign people purchase for souvenirs. They say boxes, but there seems to be many jewel boxes, inkstone cases, and other ornaments. In Tokyo, they made hairpins and glasses for oiran. In the case of Osaka, we do not know very much, but they make combs today, the ones that barbers use. Probably, because Osaka has a port, they could have transported materials from Nagasaki back then. There are still few doors in Osaka, but compared to the past, the numbers has gotten low.
 

Could you tell me about the production process?

 
 In the case of eyeglasses, you would have to first make a pattern, which is called “tama-gata”. According to the size the dealer sends, we make the pattern from a plastic sheet, and then the nose and the side part. In addition, the top and the bottom part from a straight stick. Then after, we cut the material, which is fixed to the pattern with a fret saw. The thickness may vary, so we put some parts together to make it to the thickness that we want. To bond the parts together, water, heat, and pressure is used, and never a glue. Put it between plates and press. Before connecting them, we see the texture. We hold the material up to the light and see which parts to take. It is very important to not make waste when cutting it out.

Now, we cut this straight stick in the middle, and then bend it. Heat and bend, then gradually, fit it to the pattern which is made into the shape of glasses. We attach the nose pad and add the finishing touch to the product.
 The arm is cut in the middle, but I never use a fret saw here. A loss is always produced when a fret saw is used. On the other hand, a dinking does not. However, it is very difficult to keep cutting the center. There are always some possibilities that it might get twisted, when too much power is put in the process, but If you get used to it, this is the best way. Then, we adjust the thickness. After, we use fine sand cloth to polish the surface and warm it to bend so that it fits the ears. We also use motor rollers to polish. We first do clay polishing and then to give luster, we do the finishing polishing.
 

Could you tell me which process requires skills?

 
 I guess the first process of deciding which materials to choose and how to match them. It’s all about his sense. This process makes up the last quality of the work. The process after that is flow process, so not much difference could be made no matter whomever was in charge. The finished product look like this, but the first process is always different. Even if it was the combination of three plates before, I would have to fix five this time, or four, it is always different patterns. It is very difficult to use different materials and make it to same products.
 

Could you tell me if adjusting the thickness is difficult?

 
 Yes, but what is more, is the color. What can I do to make the best color? Single-color yellow worth the most. If you put too much together, the color would get darker and darker. The darker it gets, the value of it goes down as well. This is the hardest part. If you use fine materials, it is natural for you to make a fine product. How you think out the combination of materials is very important.
 

Could you tell me about your different works?

 

 I make new works for contests, but usually, otherwise I have an order, I do not make unique products. I have made a lure and a float for fishing before. They were for contests. In a novel of a period drama, they had a paragraph about how they used tortoise shell as a float. Because there are no pictures, we never know if they were even real or how do they look like.Tortoise shell expands when they are burnt too much. It does not melt or flame up, but bubbles are produced and swell up like a rice cracker. I am guessing that they used these as floats. Because tortoiseshell sink and lose its color in water, I think they used mill ends.

Tools

Could you tell me about the tools?

 

 This is the only tool to make products out tortoise shell, a file. This file is rather rare and it is called a “Gangi” file. A “Gangi” is a steep roof in regions with heavy snowfalls. Tortoiseshell’s surface has to be flat to stick together so to make it flat, this tool is necessary.
 

(Left end)Gangi, (On the right)Kisage for finish works and pasting

Could you tell me what the base you are using is called?

 

 This base is called a “Suri-dai”. Craftsmen of craving and processing metal also use these. I ordered one myself so it’s easy to use for me, but a board is often used. The quality of the wood is always the same and it is called “ho-no-ki (magnolia)”. The grain of the wood is not that hard and it never leaves marks on tortoise shell even if I push against it hard. Hard wood never works out.
 

Do you have any succeeded tools?

 
 All of these are. There are no particular new tools here. Tortoise shell craftsman also use machines quite a lot, but there are some process where you would have to do by hand. The part where you combine pieces can never be done by machines. This might be one of the reasons why we cannot mass-produce.
 

It seems that handcraft is essential.

 
Yes, because I would have to see the color. It might be possible to mechanize if it was just matching the thickness, but human eyes are needed to see if the color is appropriate. I would have to make the materials first myself, so it is very hard to mass-produce. Also, the tools I use are almost completely same as the tools people used in Edo period. When I saw the record from old times, they have pictures of the same tools. A book called “Taimaikame Diagram” has explanations of the tools. To polish, they used to use leaves of mukutree or saliva. Saliva was said to be good because it is alkaline. Tortoiseshell primarily does not have luster. It lusters when it’s wet. With the same logic, you would have to make a thin film on the surface. To make this film, polishing is done.
 

Pride as a craftsman

What makes this job a worthwhile one?

 
 They used to have division of labor in tortoise shell work, but now, the work is done alone from the start to finish. This part makes my job fulfilling. It surely takes an enormous effort, but with materials, you can start from zero to finishing the piece.
 I guess this is not the only reason but because of the Washington Convention, there are very few people who become tortoise shell craftsman. I was grown and lived by it so I am wishing that this would never come to an end.
 

Could you tell me about your feelings for tortoise shell.

 

 Tortoiseshell works used to be only hairpins and eyeglasses, but today, we also have necklaces and earrings. Our predecessors produced works that fits the era. We should keep doing this and I am sure the tradition would stay alive. We should make products that are needed today. It means nothing just to reserve the traditional techniques. It is important to do both at the same time.There would also be some works that will not be able to be produced in the future. The number of craftsman who can make these tortoise shell eyeglasses are gradually decreasing.