Iromasa

The history of Iromasa begins with handling "coloring" as the final process of the traditional industry of Takaoka copperware. At its founding, copperware sold like hotcakes in Takaoka, and works awaiting coloring were brought into the factory almost daily. The third-generation Yoshiteru Nosaka entered the family trade right after graduating high school, acquiring coloring skills while handling an enormous volume and variety of work.

As the era shifted to Heisei, demand for Takaoka copperware gradually declined. Within the division-of-labor system, harsh conditions continued for a coloring workshop, which has no work unless pieces are brought in. Even so, supported by the belief that "there are colors of the past that should be left for the future," it has faced each piece thoroughly and kept protecting the skills inherited from grandfather and father.

The fourth-generation Kazushi Nosaka originally began his career in the world of cooking. His experience of being drawn to how countless flavors can be created through combinations of seasonings and ingredients had something in common with the color expression of metal, he says. After returning to the family trade and starting coloring work, he has explored his own color expression and ways of working while interacting with peers in the Takaoka Traditional Industry Youth Association.

Today's Iromasa, while carefully protecting time-honored skills and thinking, is also active in creating new "places" — collaboration with younger-generation artisans and designers, participation in product development, and information sharing via video and social media. To let more people know the traditions of Takaoka and the colors of its artisans through the technique of metal coloring — that is Iromasa's present mission.

A coloring workshop specializing in the "color" of Takaoka copperware

Iromasa is a workshop specializing in "coloring," the final process among the production stages of Takaoka copperware. It gives deep color and texture to metal born through stages such as model-making, casting and finishing, playing the role of determining a work's completeness.

Founded in 1952, skills and feelings woven by two generations

Founded in 1952 (Showa 27). Today the third-generation Yoshiteru Nosaka and the fourth-generation Kazushi Nosaka — parent and child — run the workshop together. Honing their skills while handling, in great volume, the coloring of Takaoka copperware that sold like hotcakes during the high-growth era, they now face each piece with the words "the colors of the past that should be left for the future" in mind.

Ancient color, ohaguro, lacquer… traditional coloring techniques expressing aging

Takaoka copperware, whose metal surface changes with the flow of time, is sometimes called "a craft for appreciating patina." Expressing the beauty of that aging through coloring is the ancient-color technique. By adjusting the degree of oxidation with a special solution and layering lacquer and ohaguro, it draws out a texture and a deep color as if hundreds of years had passed.

A commitment to traditional methods, relying on chemicals as little as possible

At Iromasa, it places weight on relying as little as possible on chemical agents and on carrying on time-honored techniques and methods. Because adjustments are made while reading the conditions of the moment — the type and state of the metal, the solution concentration, temperature and humidity, the heat level — the artisan's experience and intuition determine the finish.

A "color expression" partner involved from the product-development stage

Iromasa does not have selling its own products as its main goal; it gets involved from the stage when partner makers and artists develop products, creating color samples and proposing color expression. From Buddhist altar items and vases to small goods, interior pieces and building materials, it is a partner-like presence that explores together the optimal color and finish to match the use and worldview.

A diverse track record, from Buddhist altar items and vases to interiors and building materials

In addition to the Buddhist altar items and vases it has handled since its founding, in recent years it has handled metal coloring across a wide range of genres related to the whole living space — small goods, interior items, building materials and more. With many projects tied to spatial design, such as wall panels, lighting and objects, it gives expression to spaces through the color of metal.