“Sprinkled picture of art in a Japanese Gyuto knife - a masterpiece!” This is probably a layman would describe a knife with a Maki-e art. Maki-e, in Japan, literally means “sprinkled picture”. Applied by using a makizutsu or akebo brush, This is a kind of Japanese lacquer drizzled in gold and silver powder used as an adornment.
The History of Maki-e Making
This Japanese art started from Nara period (710 - 794 CE) while in the Heian period (974 - 1185), it was tailored in Buddhist altar fittings. In Muromachi period (1333 - 1573 CE), Maki-e arts were used to serve court peerage for stationery-making like inkstone cases. But it was not until the Edo period (1603 - 1868) that it bloomed. It was polished over time and became the elegant art that speaks of Japan. Then its reputation was accepted by royal families and armed chiefs to signify their authority.
Artists who want to learn this art usually go through several years of guidance to acquire skills and to eventually, become an experts. A variety of metal powders can be used to come up with different colors and surfaces like with copper, brass, lead, aluminum, platinum, pewter, together their alloys.
The very first lacquer master linked to this kind of arts was Koami Docho (1410 - 1478). He used markings from different Japanese painters in his arts. There are two major schools of lacquer making in the history of Japan and Koami together with another master, Igarashi Shinsai, were its prime movers.
One of the major methods being used in making this was Takamekie (or raised Maki-e). Conceptualized in the Muromachi period, the method of Takamekie includes raising up drawing patterns directly above the surface using a combination of lacquer, metal powder, and charcoal.
When putting a black lacquer without oil on the metal design as an additional coating, that method is called Maki-e Togidashi.
Their art truly represents the Japanese people love for beauty. It is an art that speaks deeply of their culture and somehow gives the world an understanding of the Japanese people in this age of time.
See more Japanese Gyuto Knife beautified with a Maki-e art,
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Yanagi-ba-bocho literally means “willow blade knife”. Some people,
for a shorter term, call it Yanagi. Yanagi knife belongs to the sashimi
hocho group of Japanese knives. The Yanagi knife originated from Kansai
(Osaka) region.
In order for a slice of sashimi to be called perfect, when one looks
at it at a microscopic view, the inside must be smooth looking and
shiny. And that is usually the result when it was sliced using a Japanese Yanagi knife.
Here is a list that makes a Japanese Yanagi knife perfect for slicing sashimi:
** Length – This knife has a long blade so it can
slice through a block of raw fish in just one pulling direction. When
one cuts the fish in an irregular pattern, the cross section is going to
be bad not only in appearance, but it will also cause the cell of the
fish being cut destroyed. This has a direct effect on the taste of the
fish.
** Thickness – It has a thin blade that creates less
effort in slicing a fish. When there is even the slightest amount of
force added in slicing, one is not slicing anymore, but instead, tearing
the fish.
Scraped Back Face – some Japanese Yanagi knives have its back faces
scraped out so that the sliced fish easily detaches itself from the
blade.
** Single Ground – one thing that makes a knife
excellent for slicing fish is that it has a single ground blade. A
single ground blade, aside from it being easy to sharpen, gives more
control to the user for slicing delicate objects, like in this case, raw
fish.
In making a Japanese Yanagi knife,
its hardness and toughness is modeled in the same way as a Japanese
sword. It is made using a combination of hard and soft steels; the
softer steel wraps around the inner harder steel. So, what can users
expect from a Japanese Yanagi knife? Sharpness and durability for a long
period of time.
For beautifully sliced sashimi, use this knife!
Japan is made of more than 6,800 islands. The big four islands namely, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku comprise
about 97% of the entire country. Being the tenth largest country in the
world, Japan has 127 million population. Japan plays a major role in
the import and export industry.
For centuries, Japan had tribal groups in and out of her islands; the
rise and fall of emperors, and experienced so many defeats and
victories in wars. All these experiences formed Japan’s rich history and
culture that extended to cutlery used in preparing food.
In cooking, Japanese people respect seasons and pattern their
preparation of food on it. They will use of what are available
ingredients during a particular season. Though dishes differ from place
to place, but Japanese people take great concern when it comes to food
preparation and presentation. How the food looks when it is served is a
big deal to them. In this tradition stemmed out the outstanding Japanese
way of manufacturing knives.
In Japan, knife making is not just a business, but a way of life. For
Japanese people, their knives are as important as their food. After
all, their knives are not only tools in preparing food, but represent
them as a nation and as an individual.
There are several steps in making a Japanese knife but there is no
one step that is more important than the rest. Each step is given full
attention and care; this is why, it takes time to craft a beautiful
Japanese knife. For a knife maker, speed cannot and will not replace
quality.
History
As early as the fifth century, local craftsmen in the city of Sakai
were required to make sharp tools to build the kofun. But only in the
sixteenth century that Sakai began crafting knives. The demand was
brought about by the introduction of tobacco in Japan by the Portuguese.
They needed tools to cut the tobacco. Since then, Sakai became the
capital for sword making.
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