Kamiko is a word made up of two characters, “kami” meaning “paper” and “ko” meaning “cloth”. This paper cloth is a kind of traditional Japanese washi that has been kneaded so that it’s soft, and treated with starch so it’s strong and water-resistant. Akio Sakamoto is a man who is using this lovely traditional material to make teddy bears and contemporary-styled lamps – things you wouldn’t normally expect from such a traditional industry. This week we take a look at this man who comes from a long line of papermakers and isn’t content to just stay in his place.
Interviewed by Takafumi Suzuki
Translated by Claire Tanaka
Akio Sakamoto with one of his lamps
Kamie, the teddy bear made of washi
Mr. Sakamoto, how many generations have there been now at Kaga Kamiko?
I’m the 18th in my line. Back in the Edo Period, my family line was the appointed paper supplier to the Kaga Han. So my father was a paper craftsman, and I was born wrapped in good paper, so they say. Of course I’m kidding, but really you could say I’m a thoroughbred. My friends say “If things were now like how they used to be, you wouldn’t even stoop to talk to someone like me.” People used to call my father “prince” when he was a kid. If I had been born a bit earlier, maybe I would be too…(laughs)
Wow, appointed supplier to the richest han in feudal Japan, that’s incredible!
Yes. Back in those days, if you didn’t have permission from the han, you couldn’t make paper. It was an offering of the highest order, the pride of the Kaga han. So if you ever got caught making some paper on the side, let alone making it and selling it, you’d get your head lopped off in an instant. That’s just how it was back then.
So, you’re the one who has the role of carrying on this traditional craft, then.
Yeah, but part of me just feels like, “who cares” when it comes to tradition. The media always says “Ooh, tradition is so special!”, but they’re just looking at the result. When you’re totally immersed in tradition day in, day out, you sort of stop noticing it. It’s just part of your life.
That’s a rather punk-sounding attitude.
Well, you know I made my first paper when I was three years old. My father held me up while I did it. I said “I want to do it!” so he let me (laughs). I was sick to death of paper and tradition quite early on in life. Actually, until I was in my mid-twenties or so, I felt that if I was ever able to find something else I was good at, I’d leave this business in a heartbeat. That’s how I felt about it.
This is how the paper is kneaded so that it can be used as strong, durable cloth.
The more the process is repeated, the stronger the material becomes.
So, what helped you decide to put your heart into your work here?
It happened when I was twenty-seven. A local traditional singing teacher told me she wanted a new sash for her kimono. At first, I thought she meant she wanted my father to make her one, and I said “I’ll tell my father to make you one. What sort would you like?” and she said, “No, I don’t want your father to do it, I want one made by you.” That made me so, so happy. I felt like she had some intuitive sense about my work. It was from that moment that I decided to devote myself to this path.
Your father must have been relieved, then?
Oh, my father is a wild guy; a madman. Even more than I am. I don’t think that “relieved” would describe how he felt. He’s a craftsman; an artist. He’s got these glinting eyes that often used to cause people to mistake him for a yakuza. As a papermaker, he still shocks me with his high level of workmanship. I don’t think I’ll ever exceed his skill as an artisan, not in a lifetime. I really respect the man. He’s a genius.
So how is the skill of a papermaker measured?
Papermakers use their legs and back to scoop up the pulp. “Become friends with the water” is a phrase we use a lot. When you scoop up the water, it’s like the water has come to play. If you do it wrong, the water is gone again before you know it. That’s the kind of thing where you have to have a fine sense of control. People who can do it well are the ones who become masters of papermaking.
But Mr. Sakamoto, your work doesn’t end with just papermaking, does it?
Yes, I’m determined not to lose out to my genius father in the field of three-dimensional works. I think you can see what I’m talking about with my “Akari” lamps and the Kamie teddy bear line.
That’s a pretty unique idea, to make a teddy bear out of Japanese paper.
One day, a girl I know saw my paper cloth and said she wanted to try making a teddy bear out of it. The first time I heard that, I said “You’ve got to be kidding!” and I got kind of mad. But after that I went home and thought about it some more, and I decided that this was a rare opportunity. I started to think, “If my paper cloth was turned into a bear, what kind of performance would it do for us?”
I see. You got some real feedback there.
Yes. Normally, I get these high-class ladies in galleries, saying “Oh how deep. Oh how lovely.” But this was a different kind of response. When I heard it, it felt like electricity was running through my body. Since then, the bear has gotten quite a lot of attention. Now, even my father says “That bear is going to bring some money into the house for us.” He’s become such a fan that he has started saying silly things like that (laughs).
Who’d have thought that in the great traditional papermaking house of Kaga Kamiko such a conversation would be taking place between father and son! (laughs)
These days, there aren’t many traditional crafts with a contemporary edge. People see contemporary stuff and they are reluctant to approve of it. They say “So-and-so back in the day made it better than this.” But those people back in the day who are revered now, they were on the cutting-edge in their own time.
Thank you for giving us a view of your traditional world, and for letting me in on your fascinating thoughts. Now, could you tell me your plans for the future?
I’d like to continue to make things by thinking with my heart instead of with my head. If I do that, I think I can use my fickle personality to my advantage, and find something else totally different and new to work on.
Kaga Kamiko Studio
Futamata-machi I 2, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture
Akio Sakamoto
Born in Futamata-machi, Kanazawa City in 1956. Craftsman and Artist at Kaga Kamiko
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PingMag MAKE is the sister site to PingMag. We use an interview format to put the spotlight on a wide range of people active in rural areas. We document the voices of these unknown heroes and broadcast them to the world. It’s the Japan-based magazine about people and making things, coming out once a week. We’re passing on the passion, ideas, skills, and life stories of people who are building today and exploring tomorrow: craftsmen, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors. Stay tuned!
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Wow, what a great approach to craft! A very interesting interview again.
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Posted by: Adriana on February 20th, 2008 at 9:21 am
A very ‘nice’ post. Many young people are turning to traditional arts & crafts but expressing them in new ways.
Posted by: zichi on February 20th, 2008 at 11:09 am
The bears are so funny. :D
Posted by: Andrei on February 21st, 2008 at 7:42 am
I’ve been ever so fascinated with traditional japanese craft for so long, these interviews are so great. It’s amazing to get a glimpse into the lives of people that makes such fasicnating things
Posted by: milo on February 21st, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Akio Sakamoto’s work making paper cloth
in his very clean studio was very interesting to read about.
His good sense of humor shows in his novel teddy bears. He did not mention what the filling material is? Just curious.
I enjoyed reading about the history of the family business going back 17 generations ago. Very unusual.
Thank you for sharing such a fascinating interview.
Emma Howard
Hawaii
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