Tokyo Ginki Pure Silver Incense Burner

The tradition of Tokyo Silversmithery began in the middle of the Edo period with the emergence of silversmiths known as shiroganeshi and decorative metalworkers. The silversmiths formed the base vessels that engravers would later embellish, while the metalworkers produced combs, hair ornaments, and fittings for portable shrines.

Their skills developed in Edo, home to the gold and silver mints and the political, economic, and cultural center where feudal lords from across Japan gathered.

About the Making Process

Tokyo Silversmithery makes use of silver's softness, workability, luster, and resistance to rust.
A single sheet of silver is repeatedly hammered against shaped stakes, gradually transforming it from a flat sheet into a three-dimensional vessel.
Edo-period techniques such as tankin hammer forming, chokin engraving, and kiribame inlay are used to develop the form, decoration, and final surface.

1. Tankin (Hammer Forming)

• The silver is annealed to soften it, measured, and cut into the required blank.
• For a rounded vessel, the sheet is first worked into a shallow dish with a wooden mallet, then raised into a three-dimensional form using hammers and stakes selected for each stage.
• Hammering hardens the metal, so annealing and shaping are repeated until the desired form is achieved.
• Once formed, patterns resembling rock, woven rush mat, basket weave, or tortoiseshell may be struck into the surface.

2. Chokin Engraving and Kiribame Inlay

• For chokin, the design is copied onto ganpi paper and attached to the vessel. Guide marks are made with a chisel before a range of chisels is used to bring out the motif.
• In kiribame, part of the design is cut from the silver and replaced with a matching piece of another metal, such as copper or shakudo.
• The insert is secured with silver solder. Excess solder is then removed with files and whetstones until the surface is smooth.

3. Finishing

• In nikomi finishing, the silver is polished with fine Suruga charcoal and other materials, given a subdued matte texture, cleaned of oxide, colored in a prepared bath, and thoroughly rinsed.
• In kinfurubi finishing, the cleaned surface is finely textured and treated with an antiquing solution formulated for the piece. The surface is then refined with horn powder and baking soda to balance the tones and enhance the pattern’s depth and relief.

MAKER · HONGO, TOKYO

Silver, Raised by Hand

In Nobuo Kasahara's workshop, a flat sheet of silver becomes volume through repeated blows. The transformation is gradual: hammer, stake, turn, observe, and begin again. What appears effortless in the finished form is the record of controlled decisions repeated across the surface.