Suzuki Chokoku

・𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Suzuki Chokoku was founded by my father. I am the second in line. We have been active for about 80 years. My father did not teach me anything at all. I learned by watching him and his disciples. There used to be about 20 disciples here. I remember when I was in elementary school, after school I used to play with my father’s disciples and so I started to realize my passion for carving. It was very lively back then. Nowadays, there are about 20 people in the Ichii itto bori carving association, but in the past, there were more than 20 disciples in our workshop alone! Thinking about that makes me feel sad.

・𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰?

In the past, the main theme was always influenced by Japanese traditions and religion. Often, we would carve items that could be placed in temples or houses as decorations. Now times have changed. While preserving old tradition, we must innovate and make items that people can use in their daily life. If we do not do that, ichii itto bori will gradually disappear.

・𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐧?

My son has been carving for about 12 years, but, like my father, I did not teach him anything. If I taught him, he will not be able to make his own carvings. He will be just imitating my technique. After he is done with a carving, I decide whether it is worth to sell the finished product.

Just like in the past, it is important to make the whole carving by yourself and take full responsibility for it. It is very important to understand that carving is about overcoming your own limits. If we feel too much satisfied after making a carving we will slowly lose our creativity.

・𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭-𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬?

In the beginning, we start from carving animals. We take as reference the 12 zodiac animals. Usually It takes one year per animal for a total of 12 years to master the basics. Sometimes there are students that can learn in 6 years. However, that is just the beginning. We need to push ourselves constantly and learn to express ourselves through our works.

・𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐢 𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐢

My father and I do not teach anything directly, so our disciples often carve interesting sculptures. There is tremendous individuality. Normally ichii itto bori disciples learn from the master. Compared to that, we value individuality and creativity more.

・𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝?

The most important thing to understand is the wood itself. You need to understand how the wood behaves when carved and we also need to learn the patterns inside it. If we carve following the grain it will be easier and the sculpture will be gentler.

・𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐦𝐚

I like Higashiyama walking course, because I always feel like I can calm down. The color of nature changes depending on the season. It is beautiful.

・𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

We wear masks and we attached a plastic label to the counter.