2021/05/06 16:47
The history of silverware in Japan(plates, sake cup etc)is old.
There used to be many silver maines in Japan and in the 16th century was one of the largest producers in the world.
Silverware was recorded in government records(Engishiki) during the Heian period, craftman, called "shirogane-shi" helped spread the use of silverware by ordinary townpeople.
The silverware, developed from the Japanese tea ceremony, takes its roots from "wabi" and "sabi", the highest aesthetic values of Japanese traditional art.
About Kousou Ueda
Japanese silverware attracted international attention during the 1867 Paris Expo.
Today, Tokyo is the main producer of traditional Japanese silverware.
After graduating from junior high school, he was apprenticed to Shinjiro Ueda.
Shinjiro Ueda was a master craftsman of hammering(SHIROGANE-SHI) as was his father.
In 1959 he made silverware for Empress Michiko with the symbol of the white birch when Empress Michiko married.
The same year, he produced silverware for a banquet at the Imperial Palace.
In 1990 he was certified as a Japan Traditional Craftsman by Japanese government.
In 1993 he made silverware for Princess Masako with the symbol of the ramanas rose.
The same year, he received awards prize of director of a bureau of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
He was awarded the Medal with Yellow Ribbon in fall's Medal of Honor winners in 2000.
