Blowing in the Wind

3 Jun 2008 Category: Craftwork, Japan, Tradition

Blowing in the Wind

Glass wind chimes called furin are a symbol of the Japanese summer. Once you hear that crystal tinkling in the streets, you know the long, hot, steamy days of summer aren’t far behind. This week, we talked to Yoshiharu Shinohara from Shinohara Furin Honpo about his dramatic and adventurous life as a furin craftsman.

Interview by Takafumi Suzuki
Translation by Claire Tanaka

Edo furin come in a variety of shapes and colors

Today, I’d like to talk to you about your life as a craftsman.

This magazine is translated into English and read by people overseas, isn’t it? I’ve been overseas plenty myself. Selling furin. America, Germany, France, Netherlands, England, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Norway. Over there, I sell them under the name “Edo Wind Bells”. They really sell well. In three days, I’ll sell a thousand of them. I go over on a tourist visa so I really shouldn’t be conducting business, though. When I come back I look suspicious with my empty bags, so I have to put something in there for the return trip. I’ve been to so many countries that I can’t even count them all.

Painting the illustration on the inside

Paint pots line the shelves

So, you’ve traveled the world as you sell your furin. That’s a great story. What country in particular sticks in your mind?

It was pretty interesting when I was invited by the queen to spend two months in the Netherlands. There was a zoo in front of the Rotterdam train station, and they had a Japan village as part of an event there. Eight craftsmen from Japan came and I was one of them. It was two months, so I was thinking it would be alright if I could sell about two million yen worth of merchandise, but I ran out of stock. Everything sold in just one month.

But how did you manage to blaze a trail overseas like that?

Well, hey, I didn’t have any money. If Japan isn’t working out, go to America. If America bottoms out, go to Germany, to France. That’s the plan. There are six billion people in the world. No point in moping around someplace that is doing poorly. You can blaze your own trail.

Cranes fly against a fiery red background

Mr. Shinohara’s grandson painted this ukiyo-e style furin

But, wasn’t it difficult with the cultural differences and everything?

Well that’s the tricky thing, isn’t it. In Japan, people have emotional associations with wind chimes and they are a part of the culture. But if you go over to America it’s, “What’s all that racket?!” (laughs) So I thought about it. Yeah, just like in Japan, in America the ghosts come out at night. And my furin come in five colors; red, green, yellow, blue, and white. I could put a meaning to each color. Red is for the sun, so if you have this you can keep the ghosts away. Blue is for the sea and the sky, two things that people all over the world can’t live without. Then green, that’s the color of plants and trees. Thanks to that green, we can have clean air. So green is for health, you won’t get sick if you have this. Next, yellow. In Japan in the autumn, the fields go golden yellow with the rice crop. This rice represents money. So if you have a yellow furin, you won’t have any worries about money. And lastly, white. Pure white, like a wedding dress. In other words, you’ll have good luck with this one. Once I did that, it was off to the races. No one said they were a noisy racket anymore after that. They flew off the shelves. That’s how you sell things.

Glass used to make the furin

Freshly made glass bubbles

You’re quite the salesman!

Yes. I’m a craftsman, a company president, and a salesman too. When I was young, I studied English in school, so I had always wanted to live overseas. But I was the oldest son and I had to take over the family business, so my dream of living overseas was shattered. But when my father was in charge, there was a big fire and they went into debt, and my parents took off. There was nothing else to do but try to build the business back up with my brothers. Both my dad and my mom spread rumors all over, “Our sons drove us to ruin because they’re so lazy”. Well that really fired me up. I went to work, making 800,000 yen in profit by the second year. Back then, you could buy a readymade house for that much money. Making that much profit in two years just making and selling furin, that’s pretty incredible.

Did you learn your craft from your father?

You couldn’t learn a thing from that pathetic man. (laughs) When my father told me to start studying how to make wind chimes, this is what I said: “I don’t want to study under you. I’d do it under the best furin maker in Japan, though. I hear there’s a guy named Shoukichi Yoshimura in Neyagawa, in Osaka. He’s supposed to be real good.” My father went to Osaka, found that guy, and brought him back to Tokyo with him.

So was this Yoshimura a real cut above the rest?

It was a whole new level. This Yoshimura, he was a pretty moody guy. He was a real old-fashioned craftsman, not willing to take any guff from anyone. When I was studying under him, at first he used to burn me and hurt me and I really hated that. But one day I figured something out. If I didn’t consider him an enemy, but if I just did whatever he asked and made him like me, then maybe it would all work out. I changed my way of thinking. And it was like magic. He started showing me all his techniques, stuff I’d never heard of before. He was really serious about making wind chimes that made a good tone, and I managed to get that trick out of him too.

The glass is blown by two people working as a teamく

You really found someone good!

Yeah, but you know, this guy was a real Don Juan. I don’t know if he was possessed or what, but he’d go sleeping with married women. And you know, back then, adultery was a serious crime. He wound up in Abashiri Prison. That’s why people shouldn’t go developing deviant desires and ambitions. It’s better to just plod along like me, plain and simple.

Lastly, please tell me what it takes to be a craftsman in this day and age.

Lately, parents of young people will come up to me, and say “My child is really quiet and withdrawn, and just likes to stay in the house all the time, so I want him to become a craftsman.” But this is what I tell them: “Lady, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s tough to be a craftsman these days. You’ve got to find your own way to market your product, explain it by yourself, and add value to the product so it will sell for a good price. If you’re quiet and withdrawn, you’d better forget about being a craftsman.” But you know, if you’re good at it, you can use your hands and your mind and make much more money than your average white collar worker. (laughs) If you want to succeed as a craftsman, you’ve got to be passionate about your work, passionate about your wife, and passionate about your land. Look at my family. We all get along. My son’s going to take over the business, and even my granddaughters says they want to make wind chimes. Even though they both went to a good university. (laughs)

Shinohara Furin Hompo
Minami Shinozaki-machi 4-22-5, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo

Yoshiharu Shinohara
Born in Tokyo, in 1924. Furin Craftsman.

54 Comments

  1. We visited this place two years ago and it is very hands on.I was able to blow the glass bells and also paint them so well woth the trip.

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