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Yamanashi
Artistry - Inden by Yi Mei Lee
“We dye the leather using colors, but the Japanese ingeniously adorned
the dyes with the smoke from straws” said the Portuguese missionary Luis
Frois, who came to visit Japan 440 years ago, and was amazed by Inden’s
dying technique. As the unique traditional leather work of Yamanashi, Inden shares
the same glory with wines and crystals as a local specialty. Inden symbolizes
the leather goods that use lacquer to print patterns on deerskin. Since the “Warring
state period” numerous people have adored Inden, which has retained its
traditions in the leather industry and has been designated a national traditional
craft.
It is said that Inden ( )
was originally introduced to Japan from India, therefore the written characters
(kanji) used In ( )
meaning “India”, and den ( ) “introduced
from” to represent Inden. Legend has it; Inden first came to Japan as a
souvenir for a warlord in the 16th century. Deerskin is believed to be tough
and is nearly as
soft as human skin; later, it became widely used on warrior’s armors. It
was not until the Edo period (1603-1867) that the commoners started to use deerskins
on cigarette covers, money pouches and bags. Yamanashi became the perfect location
to make Inden because it is surrounded by mountains, where deers were plentiful
and lacquer was easy to obtain as product materials.
According to the Inden-Ya, an established shop in Yamanashi since the 17th century,
there are three main techniques required to make Inden, which are the “Smoke
technique” the “Sarasa technique” and the “Lacquer printing
technique”.
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Smoke technique darkens the cut-fitted deerskin
with straws and resin. First, the craftsman nails the deerskin
on a drum and kindles a fire with bunches of straws. So
the smoke creates light brown marks on the deerskin. In
the meantime, the craftsman has to keep turning the drum
in order to have the design and color
smoked evenly. |
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LThe
Sarasa technique tinges the colored textile with
layers of hues; as a result, the finished products display
a magnificent harmony. In addition, Sarasa is an Indian
fabric pattern with small spots. The patterns used in
Inden look like this Indian fabric, so the name Sarasa
was applied to the Inden.
The Lacquer printing technique uses
a hand-carved Japanese pattern board as primer paint,
then brushes the deerskin with either black, red or brown
lacquer.Such
manual production requires experienced craftsmen’s intuition, and without
the knowledge and skills they have acquired over the years, Inden would not exist.
Various patterns have been used to make Inden. The Inden-Ya alone has produced
more than 500 patterns, among them the “Dragonfly” is the most popular
of all. The dragonflies not only show braveness and fierceness in fighting, but
their behavior of constant forwarding motion has won them the name “Victory
bugs”. Warriors would use the dragonfly pattern on their helmet as a symbol
of victory in battles. The softness of the deerskin coupled with its superb craftsmanship
has made Inden an extraordinary commodity. Inden is believed to be very popular
not only in Japan, but also all over the world, placing Yamanashi on the map!
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