Hannya Taiju was born in Takaoka City in Toyama Prefecture, which flourished as a cast metal producing locality dating back over 400 years. In the foundry that he operates with his father Tamotsu, numerous metals such as cast iron, iron sand, bronze, brass, and sahari (an alloy of copper, tin and lead) are melted and made into art castings.
Hannya works in the fukiwake method, in which three different metals are individually poured into a mold within five seconds of each other. Due to the different melting points of the three metals, they form distinguished patterns rather than being mixed together. Taiju and his father Tamotsu are the only known artists to have ever made three-metal cast pieces. Hannya uses the designs of the separate metals to create mystical weavings characterized by artistic contrasting and curving gestures. The characteristic of fukiwake is the mysterious gradation patterns created by the complex mixture of different metals. This distinctive expression is unique to fukiwake and cannot be achieved by any other metalworking technique, and can be linked to ink painting and calligraphy, which represent the Japanese arts. It is impossible to predict how the metals poured into the sand covered mold will flow and mix. Even when two fukiwake pieces are produced simultaneously under the same conditions, they will not result in the same expression in design.
Among the many awards Hannya Taiju received, in 2006, at The 35th Traditional Crafts Japanese Metalwork Exhibition, he received the Agency for Cultural Affairs Award.