Wagasa Umbrellas: How a Japanese Artist Creates Them

Wagasa Umbrellas: How a Japanese Artist Creates Them

  • Kotaro Nishibori has reconnected with his Japanese heritage by making wagasa.
  • Nishibori keeps the 1,200-year old process alive by using traditional tools to make wagasa.
  • These umbrellas also function as art pieces and can be purchased for between $300 to $3,000.

The transcript of the video is below.

Narrator:This technique is called dobari. This is the most difficult step in making traditional Japanese umbrellas, wagasa. The umbrella will not be sold if it isn’t aligned by even a fraction. These umbrellas can be functional but they are also considered art pieces and sell for between $300 and $3,000. Kotaro Nishibori is one of few craftsmen who can make wagasa, even though he learned it late in life. Nishibori continues to make wagasa according to the 1,200 year-old tradition. This art form is how he found his Japanese heritage.

All-natural bamboo is the first step to creating wagasa. Nishibori collaborates with bamboo craftspeople to sand and then cut the bamboo into thin sticks. After the bamboo has been prepared, Nishibori sews it to a wooden core known as a temoto-rokuro. This is how the framework is created. Each bamboo or bone stick is approximately 2 to 3 mm thick. The type of wagasa determines the number of bones that he uses. This is known as a bangasa. It requires 48 bones to connect to the core. The next step is to connect the bones together with a needle or thread. This step has been crucial. The umbrella might not open or close properly if the bones aren’t equally spaced.

Nishibori:Umbrellas are a product with a history of over 1,000 years. Craftsmen in that era were really interested in what shape is best and how to achieve it. If the process is truly satisfying, we don’t think it should change. We simply follow the established methods.

Narrator: First, Nishibori makes a tapioca paste which he will use for glue. Next comes the part that requires the greatest precision.

Nishibori:Because the glue is on the frame, you will need to press precisely the position by hand.

Narrator: If the washi must be moved, the glue will stick to it and be visible in final product. Nishibori won’t be allowed to sell the washi.

Nishibori: Also, you need to find the right place, one time and no mistakes thereafter.

Narrator: He places the paper and then uses a razor for trimming the excess washi. He does this for each panel on the umbrella frame. After he has finished gluing the last washi piece to the umbrella frame, it must dry overnight. It is then shaped and allowed to open and close smoothly the next day.

Nishibori:We have a special way to fold the paper. The paper must be folded into the wagasa stick. The sticks will be covered by umbrellas made in Western countries. Japanese wagasa uses a folding method. We fold the umbrella into ourselves and then twist it.

Narrator:Nishibori wraps additional washi paper around umbrella’s top, also known by the potter’s wrench. He holds the paper in place using only water, instead of glue. Wagasa is a Japanese art form that is often touched by multiple artisans. Each is skilled in a specific task. This art form can also be passed down from generation to generation. His path to becoming an wagasa craftsman was just as unconventional as Nishibori, who threw off the normal by learning how to do each step. Nishibori was raised in Japan but was exposed as a child to other cultures and peoples.

Nishibori:My father owned a private English school in his hometown. I was therefore familiar with English and some of the foreigners who had stayed in my home town. This makes me curious about the world. [things]Outside of Japan

Narrator:Nishibori, who had just finished high school in Japan moved to Canada.

Nishibori: Being in Canada, that was the first moment — actually, I feel a little bit of shame about it. Many of my friends have asked me questions about Japanese culture and Japanese history. I don’t know much about Japanese history because I didn’t really study it. I am Japanese but don’t know anything about Japan.

Narrator: Nishibori returned to Japan after spending two years in Canada. This was when he met his future wife, Hiyoshiya (a wagasa shop which had been in operation since the 1850s), and they were married. Nishibori was able to learn the thousand-year old art of making wagasa from his wife and took over the family’s business.

Nishibori:It’s somehow connected to me. This is what I was looking for. It is something Japanese cultures value greatly.

Narrator: To make the umbrella water-resistant, one last step is to paint it with linseed oils. The umbrellas must be allowed to dry for at most two weeks before any decorative touches can be applied. Hiyoshiya now has a worldwide customer base which allows Nishibori to share his Japanese culture to the rest of the world. He’s a teacher to his staff after 25 years of experience, but he still learns the art form.

Nishibori:Nobody says anything in the Japanese craft industry. “I’m master.”Mastery cannot be defeated, even if it means you have to stay there your entire life. Master is symbolic. I can however say that I am a skilled craftsman.

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