Kihachi Kiuchi

Japanese: 木内喜八 - きうち・きはち

Year of death: August 19, 1902 (Meiji 35)
Year of birth: Bunsei 10 (1827)
A woodworker from the late Edo and Meiji periods. Born in Fukagawa, Edo, as the son of a master boat carpenter. His childhood name was Tomokichi. He learned a wide range of skills, from the family trade of boat carpentry to the making of koto, Chinese wood and ivory carving, and even sword sheaths and Western gun manufacturing, and served the Kaga Maeda family for a period from the end of the Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji period. After that, around 1877, he devoted himself to woodworking, such as joinery and carving inlay, and was very active in creating works, winning the Homon Award for his "Rosewood Wood Painted Incense Cabinet" at the first Domestic Industrial Exposition held in the same year, and the Master Technique Award for his "Rosewood Wood Painted Sugoroku Table" at the second Domestic Industrial Exposition. Kihachi's style was based on his study of classical works such as the Shosoin Treasures, and was the product of Kihachi's own unique ingenuity. His skills were passed down to his son Hanko and grandson Shoko, and went on to form a major trend in the woodworking world of modern Japan. His representative works include the "Wave Chidori Carved Large Fire Bowl" (Tokyo National Museum collection), created in 1896. <References> Woodcraft, edited by the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

(Komatsu Hirohide)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：明治35.8.19(1902)
生年：文政10(1827)
幕末明治期の木工家。江戸深川に舟大工の棟梁の子として生まれる。幼名は友吉。家業の舟大工の技をはじめ,琴の製作や唐木・象牙細工,さらに刀鞘から西洋銃の製法まで,さまざまな技術を幅広く修め,幕末から明治初年にかけての一時期,加賀前田家に仕えた。その後,明治10(1877)年ごろを境に指物,彫嵌など木工芸に専念し,同年に開催された第1回内国勧業博覧会に「紫檀製木画香棚」を出品して鳳紋賞,第2回の同博覧会に「紫檀木画双六局」を出品して妙技賞を受賞するなど,盛んな制作活動をおこなった。作風は,正倉院宝物など古典作品の研究を基盤に,喜八独自の工夫を積み重ねたもので,その技は子の半古,孫の省古に受け継がれて,近代日本の木工界に大きな流れを形成するにいたる。代表作は明治29年制作の「波千鳥彫嵌大火鉢」(東京国立博物館蔵)など。<参考文献>東京国立近代美術館編『木工芸』

(小松大秀)

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