Sako Ryuhei: an Exploration of Mokumegane

23 April - 30 May 2021

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    Showcasing a variety of dazzling vessels, Onishi Gallery is delighted to present Sako Ryuhei: The Evolution of Mokumegane.  The Viewing Room aims to re-examine and celebrate Sako's modern interpretation of mokumegane, a centuries-old metalworking technique steeped in rich history and tradition.  

     

     

     

  • During his time at the Department of Design and Applied Arts in the Facultuy of Arts at Hiroshima City University,...

    During his time at the Department of Design and Applied Arts in the Facultuy of Arts at Hiroshima City University, Sako gravitated towards Metal Design rather than Textiles or Lacquers due to his love for fixing bikes. The artist first ecountered mokumegane at the Japanese Traditional Kogei Exhibition, where he came across a piece by Tamagawa Norio, a Living National Treasure in metalwork. 
  • The origins of mokumegane can be traced back to the Edo period where the technique is thought to have evolved...

    ©木目金屋

    The origins of mokumegane can be traced back to the Edo period where the technique is thought to have evolved from a specialized local craft in Akita, Japan. The process was primarily used to create intricate sword fittings for the gentry. Others surmise that the technique was imported into Japan during the Muromachi period (1336–1573) after devloping in China from the Song and Ming dynasties. 

  • While mokumegane is a traditional technique, Sako is largely self-taught, as his university did not offer classes on the process. The artist relied on reference books to build a foundation of knowledge. Through a financially draining process of trial an error, Sako grew more comfortable with the unpredicatble nature of the material. 

  • In order to create the intricate mokumegane pattern, Sako forges twenty to thirty layers of metal under incredibly high temperatures. Once the metals have amalgamated into a single, thick billet, he then incises the billet, revealing the stratum of metals below. Afterwards, Sako flattens the incised billet into a thin, circular sheet, allowing the layered metal to form organic patterns.  Finally, using a metalworking hammer, the sheet is hammered into the artist's desired shape. 

     

     

  • "The uniqueness of the mokumegane process is that it allows me to really appreciate the necessity of the work being felt by myself, conceived in my own head and made by my own hand. The vague doubts that I harbored as a student naturally dissapeared by working reapeatedly day after day and confronting the material. Thinking back to it now, perhaps I was attracted to mokumegane because I felt these elements somewhere inside of me that I was not aware of." 

                                                                                                 –Sako Ryuhei 

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