Nunome inlaying is a technique in which a thin sheet of gold or silver is inlaid on a hard metal surface, such as iron, after it has been incised in various directions to roughen the surface. It is believed to have originated in Damascus, Syria, where gold and silver inlays were made starting in the BCE, and accordingly the technique became known as “Damascene”. The technique was introduced to Japan via the Silk Road and became widely used starting in the Momoyama period (1573-1600) to decorate armor, ornaments, and other metalwork. However, with the abolition of the samurai as a class in the Meiji period (1868-1912), many craftsmen found themselves facing economic difficulties.

　Komai Otojiro I, who had learned the nunome inlay craft from a craftsman in Higo, was working as a sword dealer in Kyoto, but he too similarly lost his livelihood and in 1873 decided to make products for export. The objects produced by Otojiro became popular overseas in the latter half of the Meiji period and came to be known as “Komai Works,” and later “Damascene Works.

　Meanwhile, in Edo, Kashima family, a swordsmith and metalworker, during the Keio period (1865-1868) had invented their own nunome zogan technique applied not to iron but rather to a base of shibuichi or shakudo. Kashima Ikkoku I and his brother Kashima Ippu I became nunome zogan craft specialists, and in the Meiji period, Ippu II further expanded the expressive range of the craft. The lineage of the Ippu line, though, died out after the second generation, but the Ikkoku family line continued to develop their unique style, which differed from other craftsmen, who applied nunome zogan to an iron base, and remained active at both domestic and international expositions and exhibitions.

　The present exhibition features works from the Museum’s collection by Komai Otojiro of Kyoto and Kajima Ikkoku of Tokyo, contemporaries who were both involved in the production of nunome zogan, as well as superior nunome zogan pieces produced from the Edo through the early Showa eras. Feast your eyes upon the meticulous skill that emitted such exquisite flashes of brilliance in both the East and the West.