(Please scroll down for the English version.)
トーク・オン・ウッド：白い犬～Anjing Putih～
吉野杉で作られたりんごを初めて見た時、「これはいいね。」と思って、一個を軽く持ち上げた。しかし、よく見たら、吉野杉の細かくて均一な年輪がりんごの周辺へ仄かに曲がりながら永遠に続くと気づいた。僕はある迷路を陥り、手で回しながら見るのをやめられなかった。少し離れてみたら、綺麗な年輪が模様になっていると気づいた。四つの部材の細かい年輪を合わせることによって、木に新たな表現力を与えたような気がする。
そのりんごは「白い犬～Anjing Putih～」の山本直美さんの作品であった。川上村伯母谷の出身、山本さんは村を出て働いていたが、吉野杉の良さを形にしたいと村に帰って木工を始めた。山本さんはインドネジア語で「白い犬」という意味の「Anjing Putih」の可愛い響きに惹かれ、「いつか、何か」で使えるチャンスを見計らっていた。結局、自分の工房にぴったり合う名前になった。僕らが話していた間、その名前のインスピレーションになった紀州犬三代目のコーシローくんは起き上がり、みんなに挨拶しに来た。十五歳のコーシローくんは昔頻繁に逃亡したが、今日みんなに撫でられるように部屋をゆっくり回っている。「その犬の存在が私にとってとても癒される存在やから、私の作ったモノが、手にとって買ってくれはったお客様のお家でもそういう存在になってくれたらいいな」と山本さんは言った。
最初に「白い犬～Anjing Putih～」で家具を作っていたが、吉野杉の柔らかい、傷つきやすい特徴が細かい加工に向かなくて、気になっていたらしい。しかし、ある日、軽トラの荷台で山ほどになった角材を弟さんにもらい、山本さんは椅子を作り出した。椅子の脚を切り、その残った端材を貼り合わせて、初めてりんごの作品を作ってみた。現在、片手で軽く回せるほどのりんごと柿を作っていて、大好評である。一本の角材を四等分にし作ることによって、細かい目が丸い周辺で曲がっても結局綺麗に合い、それぞれの部分が同じ伸縮性をもつため、こういう癒される存在を長持ちさせることができる。最初に気になっていた吉野杉の柔らかさは滑らかな暖かみをもたらし、作品の強みになっている。身近にある吉野杉のりんごや柿を手で持てば持つほど、その柔らかい表面に艶を与える。表面の綺麗な年輪は切り方によって長い曲線になったり、とんがったりする。「まっすぐな木やから表現できる、吉野杉の良さと特徴をこれで分かってもらえるかなというのもある。」と山本さんは説明した。まっすぐな年輪は、百年にわたって人の手で育てられ、長い冬を百回生き残った木は独特の色彩と年輪をもつ。「やから、絶対同じのを作られへん。」と。年輪を数えて時間の流れを感じながら、一本の木の、一個の作品の、一つの表現に耳をすませる。
吉野杉のりんごと柿を多くの人に覚えてもらいながら、「白い犬～Anjing Putih～」は家具を作り続けている。りんごと柿と同じく、椅子や一輪挿しは木の自然な模様を活かして、空間に暖かみを与える。椅子の座面は積み木で満たされて、椅子にもおもちゃにもなれる。
2018年は戌年で、犬をなかなか飼えない僕はこういうものを身近にしたくなる。
Talk On Wood: Shiroi Inu~Anjing Putih~
The first time I saw an apple made of Yoshino cedar, I thought, “Wow, this is cool,”as I lightly picked it up. However, when I took a closer look, I noticed that the thin, even rings of Yoshino cedar continued endlessly around the apple, slightly curving along the way. I fell into that maze, and couldn’t stop looking at it as I spun it around in my hand. When I moved away a little, I noticed that the beautiful rings formed a nice pattern. By joining the thin rings of four separate pieces, it felt like a new power of expression was given to this wood.
That apple was a piece by Naomi Yamamoto of “Shiroi Inu ~Anjing Putih~”. Shiroi Inu means “white dog” in Japanese, and Anjing Putih means the same thing in Indonesian. Originally from the Obatani district of Kawakami Village, Yamamoto-san left the village to work, but decided to come back and start woodworking to create something that shows the strengths of Yoshino cedar. She liked the sound of the Indonesian words, Anjing Putih, and was waiting for the chance to use it in “something, sometime”. It eventually became the perfect name for her woodworking studio. The inspiration for that name, a third generation Kishu dog named Koshiro, woke up and came to greet us while we were talking. The fifteen-year-old Koshiro used to run and escape out of the house pretty often, but today he walks slowly around the room to get pet by everyone. “For me, the dog’s presence is a very healing presence,” Yamamoto-san explained, “so I hope the things I make can be like that in the homes of the people who pick up and buy one of my pieces.”
Shiroi Inu ~Anjing Putih~ initially made furniture, but the soft, easily scratched wood wasn’t suitable for detailed woodworking, and that was frustrating. However, one day Yamamoto-san got a truck load of block wood from her brother and made a chair out of it. It was by cutting and fitting the left over pieces from the chair legs that she tried making her first Yoshino cedar apple. Now, she makes apples and persimmons that are light enough to spin around in one hand, and they are incredibly popular. By cutting a single block of wood into four equal pieces, the fine rings eventually re-connect perfectly, even after bending around the round perimeter. Since the four pieces are all from the same tree, the four pieces expand and shrink together, allowing its owner to hold on to this healing presence for a long time. The softness of Yoshino cedar that was initially frustrating now brings a smooth warmth and is the strength of the piece. The more a Yoshino cedar apple or persimmon is held and touched, a nice glossiness is added to that soft surface. The beautiful rings on the surface make long arcs or sharp points depending on how the wood is cut. “I thought people would see this and understand that it’s because of the strengths and characteristics of Yoshino cedar that I can make these expressions.” Yamamoto-san explained. These straight rings were grown by peoples’ hands over the course of a hundred years, and every tree that has survived a hundred long winters has its own unique coloring and grain. “That’s why you can’t make the same exact one twice.” While counting the rings and feeling the passage of time, I laid my ears to the single expression of this single piece from a single tree.
While Shiroi Inu ~Anjing Putih~ is now known by many people for making Yoshino cedar apples and persimmons, the woodworking studio continues to make furniture as well. Just like the apple and persimmon, the chairs and small flower vases make the most out of the natural patterns in the wood, adding a warmth to whatever space it is in. The seat of the chair is evenly filled with wooden playing blocks, so it can be either a chair or a toy.
2018 is the Year of the Dog, and as I can’t quite own a dog as a pet, I like to keep these kinds of things nearby.
