Bachiru

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Bachiru ( Japanese 撥 鏤 ) is a Japanese handicraft technique for engraving objects made of colored ivory .

overview

The engraving technique has its origins in the China of the Tang period , from where it came to Japan in the Nara period . Before the engraving, the ivory is first colored red, green or blue. The process of dyeing is time-consuming because ivory does not accept color very well. The colored surface of the ivory is then engraved and decorated using the Hanebori technique ( 撥 (ね) 彫 (り) ). Since the color does not penetrate very deeply into the ivory, the engraved lines appear white or ivory-colored. The engraving lines can then be filled with another color in a second step.

This technique of Japanese handicrafts had fallen into oblivion until Yoshida Fumiyuki (1915-2004) rediscovered and appropriated it in the 20th century, for which he was named the Living National Treasure of Japan .

example

Some wonderful examples of this handicraft can be found in the Shōsōin , the treasure house of the Tōdai-ji in Nara . Among other things, the three oldest Go tables in Japan that are still preserved today are kept there. These Go tables date from the Nara period and, according to the treasury documents, they were often used by Tennō Shōmu (reign 724-749). One of the play sets includes a set of Go stones, which are made from ivory using the Bachiru technique. The stones are not, as usual, black and white, but red and dark blue and decorated with an animal motif on both sides.

literature

  • 撥 鏤 . In: Noma Seiroku野 間 清 六, Tani Shin'ichi谷 信 一(Ed.):日本 美術 辞典 (Lexicon of Japanese Art). 14th edition. Tōkyodō, Tokyo 1959,pp. 506-507 .
  • Masukawa Kōichi ( 増 川 宏 一 ): Go ( 碁 ) . In: も の と 人間 の 文化史 (cultural history series) . Hōsei University Publishing House, Tokyo 1987, p. 2-8 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 撥 鏤 . In: デ ジ タ ル 版 日本人 名 大 辞典 + Plus at kotobank.jp. Retrieved April 12, 2014 (Japanese).
  2. ^ Louis Frédéric : Japan Encyclopedia . Harvard University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-674-00770-0 , pp. 66 (English, limited preview in the Google book search - French: Japon, dictionnaire et civilization . Translated by Käthe Roth).
  3. ↑ 日本 美術 辞典 (Lexicon of Japanese Art), 1959, p. 507
  4. ↑ Bachiru. In: JapanARTSandCRAFTS.com. Retrieved April 12, 2014 .
  5. ↑ Masukawa Kōichi: Go ( 碁 ), pp. 3–4