-Surely not even our children want to succeed this -I want to experience it once -I myself prefer kind ones, even though I look like this -There isn't a way of carving -We have for young ones -There are brilliant coloring and light coloring -So I rewrite it, making an image, expand it, then carve -As a carving shop, I guess we have more -So, it's hard for us if they don't enjoy it more

The interview with the craftman is available for those who read Japanese. Enjoy it!(Japanese interview)

Surely not even our children want to succeed this:

(Has Soushu been the shop name from before?) Yes. (You are what generation?) I'm the third. (You've been here always?) My grand-father worked behind the Koma-gata street just near by when he was young. That's before the Kanto Earthquakes. (He has always curved wood?) Yes, wood carving. (What kind of field?) Shrines and Buddhist temples. As for fields, it can be divided into temples and shrines, Buddha statues, and Buddhist altar fittings. We do them all. It's like that. We sell at department stores, so for that point, we have many products. (You still do shrines?) You'll see when we go up(to the workshop) because it's being worked on now. It's a coincidence. (You have many orders now?) Yes, there are a lot. We have not always done shrines, but the talk begins a year before. (Showing a sketch) This is one of the district's important cultural assets, our senior carved it. This time, we are doing this part, we are going to carve a flying dragon about 1 meter in size before next June. (Dragon?) Flying dragon. You know! Remember flying gozillas. So, we carve four of them. This photo here is of my senior, Mr. Ishikawa. He is awesome! It was Meiji 8 when this was completed. Carving that guy was doing. So, by some chance, we were lucky and the talk came to us. (That photo is a festival car?) It is a festival car. (How many artisans do carvings like those?) About a few hundreds. There are some in Tokyo, too. (There are that many?) There are. But for us, surely not even our children want to succeed this. We can't eat. Now, there are general construction companies. So, in reality, the number is decreasing.

I want to experience it once:

Now we have an order for two frames of 1m80 and 2m50. This is for next year and the year after. (Is it a religious pattern?) It's a religious pattern. The size, too, is 2 meters, pretty big. It's awesome. Hokke sect. So, there are a few of those. The plan of that one now is this. We carve this. (You carve the pictures?) The board is a few millions, so 4 or 5 millions. (What about the plan?) This is of a shrine near Toyama ward that is one of country's important cultural assets. Because of copyright, copying is forbidden. (You make a similar one?) But, we don't do this everyday. This is the first time for me doing this. It's not about money. I wanted to experience it once. This is once in a lifetime thing. It remains for hundreds of years. So just painting about 2 meters and this much width of a frame with Wajima , it costs about 2 million. (The base is the picture?) It's the picture. (You make it three-dimensional and carve it?) Yes. But for me, I say that's so in my head, but............ (Does it take imagination to make three- dimesional productus?) Yes. (You draws the plan that makes the painting three- dimensional?) Of course.

I myself prefer kind ones, even though I look like this:

So this is definitely not a profitable business. I tell my foolish son not to do it, and made him work outside. (Is he going to succeed you?) He is not going to succeed me. I'll have him do as he pleases. This business, you can do only if you like it and individuality becomes necessary. Even if we do the same work, the faces will look different. Each product shows the different characteristics of the aritisan. Some are good at making fierce statues like the God of Fire, and others are good at making soft images. This carving of Shibamata in this picture makes the people think, "Wow, it's good!" The chief priest has an intention. In the carving, Buddha is preaching, "If you become that way, you'll go to such hell, so you should live this way, " so this carving is a teaching of Buddha. Then, they understand. It doesn't have much impact, but it's more soft and kind. (Which kind are you good at?) I myself prefer kind ones, even though I look like this. The Buddha statues are all like Noh mask. Rather than those, I want to make more soft images and rough images.

There isn't a way of carving:

(Is the way of carving decided as a tradition?) There is no way of carving. There are basic ways for parts like how to carve the hands, but basically there aren't any, I believe. It's just the way people see it. The dragon's expression might look dignified or vulgar or ill-proportioned. That's all there is to it.

We have for young ones:

That apprentice, he comes by himself. With his father, I took him to a furniture workman and a cabinet workman because he could earn more there. I told him to go there if he wanted. But he said he didn't want to. He is a son of my friend. From art school. He graduated middle-school and he came here without going to high-school. It wasn't so much trouble for me, but I had much responsibility. So I had to make him a professional. So to begin with, I rent him my tools. All we can do is, not say the carve is good or bad, but let them use the tools freely. And the way of seeing things. That, it just has to be gotten used to. (What about your son?) I don't know. But because it's hard for me as a parent, I told him it's better not to. (There aren't many successor for artisans?) It's not time for that, to put it harshly. We have four young ones. Any one of them can succeed. As carving. In our father's times, it was getting dependent and getting a job from your master. It's different now, I think. Because of our "Shoushu" board, we get orders, so it's better for our young ones to continue here, to help the living. That's way I want to retire alone someday. (You want the Shousen brand to continue?) Yes. Then, carving is interesting. What you like lasts for ten, twenty years. You can open a private show and eat on that. That's what I think everyday. Always, as a dream.

There are brilliant coloring and light coloring:

(What about behind the Buddha statue?) It's a fire. (You don't paint Buddha statues?) No, that's not so. This one that was just photographed is called light coloring, and there are brilliant coloring and light coloring. For brilliant coloring, at the beginning, the chalk is painted all white. Then, the colors are added on it. Brilliant coloring, the best paint is rock paint, and you can paint wood lightly or darkly. (Rock paints?) Yes, cosmetics, not a dye. (So this is painted, too?) Yes, it is painted. So, it's brilliant coloring. We cover the material completely, then it is painted after painting the chalk. And this one is light coloring. We show the material partly and as a whole. (Are there unpainted parts, also?) That one there isn't painted, the color of the material.

So I rewrite it, making an image, expand it, then carve:

(At what age did you start this job?) After I graduated high-school. (Immediately carving?) No, I started this job when I was twenty-five. Before then, I did fine arts. Of course I was carving, too. But as a job, from twenty-five. (Is there a data material on carving?) Yes, since Buddha statues are seen as a religious material, so the problem is how to deform that. How to get rid of that. (Is there certain guidelines?) There are guidelines. No matter how you deform, if it's firm, you must bring a sword. Also you must bring a weight. There is also a rule that the eyes must be staring at heaven and earth. Amitabha and Buddha can have the same face, but symbolic signs made with the fingers, they must be different. You see the the god of wealth there? I saw it in a Japanese parchisi of Edo era. Seeing the gold bream under the face, I thought it was interesting....... It's written more roughly. So I rewrite it, making an image, expand it, then carve. (To sell it?) Of couse, it's business. (Is it well-accepted?) Just a limited number of people for our products. People in general don't know us yet. So a person in a general family in Tawara-machi, can buy a the god of wealth made in China for ten thousand yen. They ask why ours cost 100 and 200. Those people enjoy themselves, so there are no problems at all. However, our customers say the face is good, as for wood, they can tell we use good zelkova and cypress. And for sandalwood, those that can incenses are used. This Buddha status is a sandalwood and the wood was cut down about twenty years ago. It's been twenty years, since it was from my father's time. Open the door! And smell! It comes out like that. (What a smell!) Just that, it smells pretty strongly, right? Sandalwood doesn't loose the smell, but those from China or Taiwan, although it's the same sandalwood, I don't know if I can say they are cheap, but if those are used........ So, as many years go by, unless the surface is burnt like this. The smell remains unless it is not coated with incense sticks or other smells.

As a carving shop, I guess we have more:

(How many kind of wood are used?) Zelkova, cypress, sandalwood, then camphor tree, Magnolia hypoleued. Those that look a little bit like Western style furniture are yellow birch. These are prepared. (You have much material?) As a carving shop, I guess we have more. (Kannon is almost always sandalwood?) Yes, sandalwood, box tree.

So, it's hard for us if they don't enjoy it more:

We, to put it in a bad way, smell like incense. It's not easy to come close, right? So, it's hard for us if they don't enjoy it more. Men in my apprentice's age have no connection with family altar and death, right? They would rather go to game centers or do surfing than put their hands together and pray or be peaceful. But as you age......