WOODEN BAGS (made by a Sendai furniture maker)
Miyagi Prefecture
Materials: Walnut, quince, maple, and kurogaki persimmon trees
These bags are made using the traditional chest-making techniques handed down in the Sendai area. Instead of nails, 2-millimeter-wide wooden pegs called yatoi are used to clasp pieces of wood together—the same technique as that used to make chests of drawers. About a month is required to produce one item. The bags have the warmth of wood, and each has a distinctive “face.” Sendai-made chests were designed to accommodate men’s kimonos and swords in the same drawer, but demand quickly declined with the end of the feudal era in Japan. The craftsmanship has endured, however, and is being channeled to create new products.
木のバッグ （仙台箪笥職人の技）
宮城県
素材：胡桃、かりん、楓、黒柿など
仙台箪笥職人の技を活かした新たな作品。木と木を留めるのに釘などは使わず「ヤトイ」と呼ばれる２ミリ幅の木のパーツを使います。木の材料だけで作る製法は仙台箪笥を作る技と同じ方法です。制作期間は約1ヶ月。丁寧に作られた作品は、木のぬくもり、表情が楽しめるものばかり。かつて、男の羽織と刀が共に納められるように作られた仙台箪笥は、武士の時代が終わったと同時に影を潜めました。今、新たに職人の技が生きる作品が生まれています。
