The Wagatabon wooden tray by Shibaji Ochiai

The nearly submerged handicraft

落合芝地造的木盆子,因為拿在手裡很安定,開始時只打算用來奉茶,後來就成為我早餐常用的器物,放吐司或鬆餅。因為坑紋特色深,熱烘烘的麵包放上去,水氣自縫裡跑出,又或吸收在木材裡,放久一點點,吐司表面還是鬆脆的。

這類型的木盆有個特別的名字——我谷盆。我谷盆其實起源自日本石川縣一個已經消失的村落我谷村。當地是木板屋頂的產地,造屋頂時常遺留下細小的廢材,當地人便用它們來製造生活上的用品,我谷盆便是其中之一。因為不是用作販賣,也非針對旅客的紀念品,故此我谷盆一直以來都是簡樸而實用的,完全沒有裝飾性的元素。

一直以來,都沒有人注意到這彰顯了用之美的木盆,直到昭和40年,我谷村因為附近的水壩爆裂,被淹沒了,才有人留意到這條只居住了數十人的小村落,而著名的漆工藝家黑田辰秋也在這時被我谷盆的美所撼動,嘗試復興這工藝,但真真正正讓我谷盆的製作流傳下來的,則是黑田辰秋的兒子的徒弟森口信一。數十年間,他定期到訪我谷村附近的村落,跟會造我谷盆的人聚頭,又在日本各地舉行工作坊,這幾近消失的工藝終於走進了日本人的日常生活。

落合芝地造的我谷盆,比起其他造的更為仔細,線條更為利落,看來更具現代感。即使在大都會、城市裡,傳統工藝亦非可望而不可及的存在。

The wooden tray made by Shibaji Ochiai has a calming quality. For this reason, I no longer use it only to serve tea, but more often use it as a plate for my breakfast toast or muffin; it has then become an indispensable item on my breakfast table. Since the wood has deeper ridges,  it allows the steam from the freshly toasted bread to seep away through the ridges or to be absorbed by the wood. The toast can stay crispy even if it is left on the plate for a while.

This kind of wooden tray is called Wagatabon. Wagatabon originates from an abandoned Japanese village in Ishikawa Prefecture called Wagata. The village was once famous for producing wooden rooftop. The locals utilized the extra pieces of wood left from making the rooftop and turned them into everyday items, Wagatabon was one of them. The Wagatabon was not made for sale, nor was it sold as souvenir; it had an unornamented simple design that was made merely for practical use.

The practical beauty of Wagatabon had been overlooked by the public until Shōwa 40, when the entire Wagata village was flooded due to the dam leakage. Wagata that had only less than a hundred villagers was then ironically known to the public. Precisely at the same time, the famous lacquer-ware artisan Tatsuaki Kuroda was impressed by the beauty of Wagatabon and decided to revive the handicraft. However, the technique was in fact passed on by Kuroda’s apprentice, Shinichi Moriguchi. He spent decades to visit villages around Wagata to meet with people who could make Wagatabon and held workshops in various place in Japan. Through his effort, the nearly lost handicraft was reintroduced to the Japanese household.

The Wagatabons Shibaji Ochiai made are crafted in a finer manner with sharper contour and a more modern design. Traditional handicraft is not at all incompatible with the metropolitan city.

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