Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki by Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara

Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki by Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award Perak in Reka Bentuk Peralatan Membakar, Peralatan Meja, Peralatan Minum dan Peralatan Memasak Competition Category.

PerakPeralatan Dapur· 2023

Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki

by Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara

Client: Authentic Japan Shunme

A' Design Award Perak Winner in Peralatan Dapur Category

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Colors

The Design

About Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki

Tsuzumi mempunyai bentuk simetri dengan dua cawan pada kedua-dua hujung, dan setiap satu mempunyai warna yang berbeza. Anda boleh menggunakan Tsuzumi untuk menghidangkan sake, sejenis alkohol yang kuat atau makanan istimewa, tetapi hanya memaparkannya sebagai karya seni boleh memuaskan hati anda kerana keanggunan dan keanggunannya. Ia selaras dengan hampir semua perkara. Biasanya, makie digunakan pada badan atau bahagian dalam bahagian bawah, tetapi dalam kes Tsuzumi, ia diletakkan seolah-olah ia kelihatan mengintip dari dalam. Inilah intipati kecantikan Jepun, yang sederhana tetapi mengagumkan. Urushi berlapis, tamenuri, menghasilkan warna anggun dalam cawan.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Perak

Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki ialah pemenang A' Design Award Perak, pengiktirafan yang sangat berprestij yang dianugerahkan kepada reka bentuk bertaraf tinggi, indah dan mengagumkan. Pemenang Perak ialah karya yang amat cemerlang dan sangat kreatif yang menggambarkan kepakaran, bakat dan ketajaman fikiran yang luar biasa pereka bentuknya. Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki diharapkan menjadi karya yang menakjubkan, contoh teladan, sangat profesional dan sangat inovatif. Reka bentuk pemenang A' Design Award Perak ini ialah ciptaan yang sangat ketara dan dikagumi yang memberi manfaat kepada dan memajukan batas seni, sains, reka bentuk dan teknologi. Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki ialah ciptaan yang sangat dicemburui yang membangkitkan keinginan, membawa perasaan positif dan mencetuskan rasa hairan serta kagum.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Tsuzumi has a symmetrical shape with two cups on either end, and each has a different color with makie on it. Normally, makie is applied to the body or the inside bottom, but in the case of Tsuzumi, it is positioned as if it looks peeking out from inside. This is the very essence of Japanese beauty - modest but impressive. You can choose either cup to use according to your preference on the day. Furthermore, the body is polished by a roiro specialist to represent the true black, shikkoku. Tsuzumi can be used to serve sake or delicacies, but just displaying it as a piece of art could satisfy you due to its nobility and gracefulness. It is easy to maintain because there is no angle between faces. Such angles would easily get dirty and deterioration tends to start with those angles.
Dimensions & Packaging: Materials: Natural Wood, Diatomaceous Earth Powder, Urushi, Gold Powder
Dimensions: Width 65 mm x Depth 65 mm x Hight 100 mm
Package: Packed in a high-quality paulownia box with a piece of natural turmeric-dyed cotton cloth
Tags: wood, lacquer, nature, japan, culture, decor, tableware, elegant, beautiful, sake, shunme
Production Technology: Tsuzumi is handcrafted with totally natural materials, so it is light and has low thermal conductivity, and the curved surface is extremely smooth. Due to such characteristics, you feel pleasant to touch and use it as well as you can enjoy it as an objet d’art. Only the high-skilled turners can work on this item because the finished side, which has been finely carved, must be connected to the turning machine without being damaged. One of the cups is finished in tamenuri that enables you to enjoy not only graceful shades but also its aging with time making its color brighter. It is repairable, so it will always be with you.
Design Challenge: Tsuzumi requires highly-skilled artisans through the entire process of production. The characteristic shape and glossy tamenuri finish of Tsuzumi make it laborious for the artisans to complete each of their procedures. They must be the ones who have experiences and intuition for their arts. However, the number of artisans who have skills high enough to be involved in the traditional production process of this kind of shikki has decreased due to the shrinking market. Such shikki will disappear unless the best effort is actively made to make people understand and enjoy the splendor of such shikki. Tsuzumi is designed to play one of the roles of items in the mission.
Research: Shikki is categorized as traditional craft in Japan and part of them are protected in some ways mainly under one of the ministries of the government - METI. However, the manufacturers and artisans dealing with a certain kind of shikki - 100% from nature - have, in a sense, certain kinds of difficulties. Tools and materials needed for traditional production process tend to have poor distribution, manufacturers and artisans of that kind feel unrewarded with chemical-blended urushi also allowed to be displayed as urushi, for example, and, even in Japan, people generally don’t know true beauty of shikki partly because they don’t have opportunity to appreciate it - such shikki is light and feel pleasant to handle. Materials from nature and artisans’ skills should be in a perfect harmony to produce the beauty in the items for use. Whether in Japan or across the world, such beauty could be one of the examples that are persuasive enough to make people believe that nature, tradition, sustainability and beauty are altogether part of something we love.
In the 1900s, the number of experts and workers involved in the industry has decreased to about one-third from approx. 22,000 at its peak (Yukiharu Yasujima, 'The Decline and Development of Traditional Industries as Seen in Case Studies Focusing on Wajima Lacquerware', Koyo Shobo, 2020).
Inspiration: I believe that aesthetics of things you use as well as their quality is the crucial element for you to enjoy everyday life and that such aesthetics of shikki requires careful manufacturing with natural materials. That’s the key to the unique gloss of Tsuzumi and the way it feels. With its characteristic shape, Tsuzumi harmonizes with almost any style beyond its origin. It is repairable and sustainable, which means it will always be with you. You would know the beauty and values of shikki when you actually see and touch it. Tsuzumi could be a rising star to spread the splendor of traditional handcrafted items.
Project Duration: The project started in October 2019 in Toyama and finished in April 2021 in Ishikawa, and was exhibited at National Art Center, Tokyo, in December 2021.
Operation Flow: This design enables people to enjoy the item for a lifetime because the more urushi ages, the more transparent it becomes, and because the item is repairable by re-applying urushi or by mending with gold powder and urushi, adding another taste to the item. The item is made with totally natural materials, so it has high affinity with nature, i.e. eco-friendly.