The blacksmith's morning is early.
The area is dark and my eyes wake up as my family sleeps.
Blue light.
The blue light that shines through the window into the room.
It extends to the dirt floor.
Look up at the beam cut between the columns.
Vaguely thinking
In the blue world.
A small, unnamed house built in the middle of the Showa period.
Unknown vegetation blooms one after another in the garden,
Occasionally, birds show the appearance of singing nuts.
The color of light changes
From blue to white.
Sit in front of the window and draw down what comes to mind.
Did you hear the birds singing?
Children have come up.
Line up next to each other and start drawing.
The outside of the window is bright
The shadow was finally born.
《Blue Time》 2019 HOUSEHOLD INDUSTRY exhibition @norm
Outline
KUROE is a production center of Kishu Shikki, and in the olden days, houses and workshops of Shikki craftsmen and wholesalers lined up, and the cityscape still has an emotional atmosphere. Borned in KUROE, Nobuyuki Takeda, an artist who has been running a Studio as a blacksmith in this place since 2013. This time, a 50-year-old two-story wooden house near the Studio will be renovated as a residence for four family members.
水廻り
Bathroom
廊下
Corridor
食事室
Dining Room
二間の和室
2 Tatami Room
改修前
Before renovation
A small, unnamed house that leaves a garden carefully pruned by its predecessor. A major feature of the existing floor plan is that the two Japanese-style rooms and the Bathroom and Dining room are separated by an L-shaped Corridor. Contrary to the compact floor plan, it was impressive that the Entrance, Frontyard, and Courtyard were spaciously secured. It has also been renovated at least twice, and the second floor was later found to have been expanded.
How does living affect the work for the artist, and does the way of living become an expression? In advancing the design, how to understand the "Artist's residence" was a big issue.
Styles and goals are changing. However, some of them are immutable at the core. Like the spring that comes every year, like a family that welcomes me back home. With the theme of "Origin" so that it can exist as a place to support the challenges of the Artist, we worked on the design with the idea of making use of the material rather than recreating it significantly.
カーテン
Curtain
表庭
Frontyard
土間
Doma
中庭
Courtyard
改修後
After renovation
First, the existing ceiling was removed, and the fittings such as sliding doors and partitions were removed to represent the beams and field boards. While the entire first floor is a continuous space, the L-shaped Corridor remains as it is, and the Bathroom and Dining room are placed in the soil to create a level difference and divide gently. Nested flat surfaces that can be partitioned by fittings, columns, and Curtains.
A new opening was set up in the east and west across the dirt floor so that the Frontyard and Courtyard could be seen, and the plan was to take in light and wind. In addition, by showing the traces of the renovation, the transition of the building can be visually felt.
廊下
Corridor
表札
Nameplate
門扉
Gate
中庭
Courtyard
欄間
Ranma
階段
Stairs
家具
Furniture
金物
Hardware
表庭
Frontyard
土間
Doma
The owner was responsible for the parts that the family touched, such as the stairs, handrails, and handles, and the reinforcing materials for earthquake resistance. All of them were made for families and for living. For example, Iron railings are shaped so that small children can easily grasp them by tapping them carefully.
Not limited to Wrought iron, the origin of manufacturing lies in the family. I am looking forward to the future of my home and the artist who goes back and forth between challenges and origins.
Text • Illustration / THE OFFICE
Thoughts
"Wrought iron"
One day, a master came to the House of blacksmith.
For the first time, I showed my master, who had never been praised, about the studio and house. He was told at the end he was impressed. 12 years of chasing his back. The words spoken by my strict master still remain in my heart with raw temperature.
A sudden visit from my master made me think deeply about wrought iron. Wrought iron is a method of beating and shaping iron that originated in Europe. Originally, in order to show off one's power, landlords sought strength and splendor, and asked blacksmiths to make them. Wrought iron is a symbol of strength. Wrought iron is demanded in Western Europe for works of high artistic quality, and it is an honorable occupation similar to what is called a shrine carpenter in Japan. My master is one of them, and he is one of the wrought iron craftsmen who are still active in the world. At that time, I was searching for something that I didn't have, and while following my master's back, I kept hammering iron with all my might.
Gradually, I came to feel that wrought iron had an attraction that was contrary to its strength and splendor. Japan has its own unique sense of beauty, such as ephemerality, fragility, and bleakness. While pursuing wrought iron through the house and town of Kuroe, I became attracted to the plants growing in the gardens and roadsides around me, and began to use them as motifs. This is because I wanted to express the strength and vitality in that ephemerality. Maybe that's why my master told me that he was impressed by the house of blacksmith. I believe that weakness is the greatest strength.
Plants, wrought iron, and the house of blacksmith have a common axis of time. While the plant completes its short life, it indifferently sprouts, withers, repeats reproduction, and continues to grow roots on the spot. I was fascinated by the life force that continues to exist and the shape that withers even if it is fleeting. When making these motifs with iron, there is a moment when the expression oozes out at the end after hitting it with all your heart. The moment when the vitality and strength of the plant is expressed. This is the moment when I realize that this is wrought iron.
On the other hand, the blacksmith's house is a small house with no name, but it has been repaired many times and has been lived in, leaving traces of each resident. The lintels and transoms arrange the space in a rhythmic manner, and even the brown sun-burnt pillars and floorboards in the corridor have a beauty that has been ingrained in time. You can see the axis of time in the line that connects everything.
Our lives unfolding in our homes are a series of surprises and realizations every day. The blue light that begins in the early morning, the changes in the garden, the chirping of birds, the sound of crickets, and the dining table at dusk all turn into thoughts. Whether it's a house or a product, the more the process goes on, the more affection you put into it, and the more you see it in your expression at the end. I feel respect and affection for that beauty.
《Wrought iron》 2021 HOUSEHOLD INDUSTRY
Gallery
Residence / gallery
Exhibits: Gates / posts / nameplates / furniture / fittings / columns / hardware / stairs etc.
Architectural design / THE OFFICE
Building construction / Higashibata Co., Ltd.
Curtain / fabricscape
Furniture and Hardware / HOUSEHOLD INDUSTRY
Lighting / Tobimatsu lighting
Planting / Shiozu Shokubutsu Kenkyujyo
Logo and Web Design / THE OFFICE
Exhibition
House of Blacksmith holds exhibitions on an irregular basis. It is also a place where I spend my days making trial and error about how iron should be. Please take a look at the iron world reflected in the faint light and shadow of only natural light.
Reservation
A small wooden house and gallery near the studio. It is a place like the origin of manufacturing, where you make what you need in your life for your family. You can view it as a gallery so that you can experience how it changes over time as you use it and becomes familiar with your life.
Viewing is by appointment only.
We accept reservations for viewing using the input form below. Please select "Subject" and send. We will reply to you with the date and time when you can make a reservation.
Before you take a look, I have some requests.
Please be sure to read the notes and make a reservation after acknowledging it.
Notes
< Notes on viewing >
Please refrain from shooting.
No smoking indoors or outdoors.
Please be careful when touching furniture etc.
If you are traveling with young children, please hold hands and watch together.
Please keep an eye on your child to prevent accidents.
Please be careful not to inconvenience the neighbors.
Please follow the guidelines for new corona measures when visiting.
< Notes on reservations >
Limited number of people reserved / 1 group (up to 2 people)
Please contact us if you are traveling with children.
Application is not confirmation of reservation.
Please contact us at least 2 weeks before your reservation.
If we determine that it is inappropriate, we may cancel your reservation.
It may take some time for some inquiries.
If you are having trouble submitting the form, please contact us by email at contact@householdindustry.jp. In addition, the reply to the e-mail from here may become junk e-mail and may not arrive. If you do not receive a reply, please call +81 73 (488) 5199.
HOUSEHOLD INDUSTRY
201-14 Funoo, Kainan City, Wakayama Prefecture, 642-0001
