Nagiso Rokuro Zaiku

Shaped by the grain

Nagiso Rokuro Zaiku shows off natural wood grain, with a simple, warm handmade feel in every corner. Makers choose what to make from each log according to its wood quality, character and small variations. It is made in Nagiso and Achi in Nagano and in Nakatsugawa in Gifu as wooden bowls, tea chests, trays and soup bowls, from horse chestnut, zelkova and other woods.

Reading the log

The bark is stripped and the log cleaned with brushes. The maker then studies the cut end and surface to judge when the tree was felled, where and how it grew, and the colour, quality and any figure, called moku, inside. Only then is the piece planned, so its shape makes the most of the grain and figure, before it is turned on the lathe.

Bowls for Nagoya and Osaka

Old documents in Nagiso place the start of the craft in the early 18th century and record turned trays and bowls being shipped to Nagoya and Osaka. By the mid-Edo period, white unlacquered turned ware was clearly being made in the area.