Sunday 26 February 2017

Where Would You Normally Find An Oni?

here is a clue, in Japan,


but even then they are not easy to find, to give them their correct name, they are known as Oni-gawara, literally “oni-tiles” they are roof tiles that are affixed to the end of the roof ridge, 

they’re not only for decoration, but also to control rain water, oni-gawara and most importantly they were meant to keep evil away, today, oni-gawara are most commonly found on the tops of old buildings and temples, 

 but in modern homes there is not the room for them, but all is not lost Shinto Ltd. commissioned nine oni-shi (artisans specialising in making oni-gawara) to create tiles that can be mounted to walls on modern homes, these smaller, more contemporary oni-gawara go for about 30,000 yen (at today's rate £214.60 or $267.49), their compact size (9 x 11 cm or 14 x 20cm on a walnut plate) makes them ideal for putting around the house to ward off evil,

 but larger pieces can be made to order, starting at 100,000 yen, (at today's rate £715.36 or $891.63), an artisan of your choice produces an oni-gawara according to your specifications, you will be up-dated on the production process on social media, if you wish to (and schedules allow it) you can even witness the piece entering/ leaving the kiln as well as its final finish, the piece at the top of this post is called, Kimen by Kamiya Shinsuke,

there is a video of the process, in Japanese, but it is still a pleasure to watch craftsmen at work.


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