My life revolves around the lifecycle of the lacquer tree. Summer to late autumn is the harvest window; the resin or “urushi” is collected by carving notches into the bark. In the winter, trees that have given all the resin they have to give are cut down and used as the base material for my works. The outer shape of my works is formed by striking the trees with a hatchet. The hardships of snow and winds visible on the bark, I hatchet away, each stroke revealing a new pattern—signatures from winters past. Sometimes my works reveal to me something beyond my own imagination, something I would never have come up with myself. I strive to capture and bring out those expressions and let the wood tell its own story of time and of place.

私の仕事は、漆の木の命とともにあります。夏から晩秋にかけては漆搔き。樹皮を剥ぎ、幹や枝に傷をつけて、樹液である漆を採ります。冬には漆を掻き終えた木々を切り倒し、それらに鉈をいれて作品の材とします。風雪に耐えた痕跡は、ひと割りするたびに木肌が一変し、ときに自分の思いを超える表情を見せてくれることがあるのです。その瞬間をとらえて、命ある形にしていきました。
漆の木々が過ごしてきた時間と情景を、作品から感じていただければ幸いです。