Made in Tsubamesanjo

Japanese Shears and Gardening Tools

“Made in Tsubamesanjo”,  our ongoing special event held at ITSUMO this month, is featuring beautiful and functional kitchenware and home goods directly from the city of Tsubamesanjo located in Niigata prefecture. Tsubamesanjo is best known for their traditional craftsmanship and  famous for its metal processing and technological evolution.
Now as the days are getting brighter with Spring approaching, we would like to introduce some of our favourite new products available at ITSUMO.

Stunningly handcrafted by the skilled craftsmen in Tsubamesanjo using their traditional techniques and knowledge, a selection of essential Japanese tools for gardening is now available in-store and online. Highlighting from traditional Japanese bonsai shears to high quality tools for all gardening/ outdoor lovers, we hope to share inspiration and joy of working with plants, flowers, soil and the nature. Whether that be foraging on a camping trip, pruning flowers in a yard or starting a mini indoor garden at home,  these beautiful tools are truly pleasurable to use. 

About Toyama Hamono

Toymama Hamono is a traditional shears manufacturer based in Sanjo Niigata, Japan, a town famous for the craft of blacksmithery since 1861. Their methods are based on the manufacturing methods of Japanese swords (Katana) and have been hand-making secateurs and shears for almost 160 years. Toyama Hamono continues a respectful reputation throughout Japan and the world for producing excellence in gardening shears.

Made in Tsubamesanjo

– Traditional Craftsmanship –

February 01 – 28, 2022

This month of February, Itsumo presents an exciting new line of housewares from Tsubamesanjo, Niigata Prefecture. A town famous for its metal processing and technological evolution, we hope you enjoy exploring the authentic products directly from the city of Tsubamesanjo.

With the history and traditions of such manufacturing still preserved by craftsmen in this area, new advanced industrial technology continues to develop, making Tsubamesanjo homewares ideal products for the modern home, while still living within tradition.

About Tsubame-Sanjo

Tsubame and Sanjo, often referred to as “mid-prefecture,” are two cities located almost in the center of Niigata Prefecture. Tsubame-Sanjo is famous for its metal processing, but it is also a region rich in nature – thanks to the Shinano river, Japan’s longest, that runs through the region – and is known as a production center for delicious rice and fruits. Its fertile land has long contributed to a harvest of agricultural products and prosperity.

The tradition of metal fabrication in these two towns dates back over 400 years to the Edo period (1603-1867), with the manufacturing of metal nails marking a turning point in Japan’s industrial revolution. Since then, Tsubame-Sanjo has become one of the world’s leading technological zones, continuously developing new ways to improve and evolve industrial technologies to meet new challenges amid changing times. But time-honoured techniques of the past are not forgotten. Some traditional industries, such as Tsuiki copperware and forging, are still passed down in an unbroken line from generation to generation, while simultaneously embracing present-day lifestyles with contemporary metal products and tools that no modern household can do without. In this way, the manufacturing tradition of Tsubame-Sanjo continues to evolve.

“Tsubame and Sanjo – two manufacturing towns where the history and traditions of industrial live on. By continually facing new challenges, our craftsmen have acquired more advanced techniques, to ensure that these manufacturing towns never stop evolving.”

Tsubamesanjo-trade.com

“ha” plates

For a while, I did not know what to do with thin pieces of bowed and cupped wood planks. They mostly come from re-sawing processes of cutting thick pieces of lumber into somewhat close to desired sizes. Dealing with off-cut is an inevitable aspect of wood working. Some of them are useful because they are straight enough… so I saw the bent and bowed pieces not so useful as I could not find any use for them. However, I eventually was able to get away from controlling focused woodworking practices. Then I started to see the joy in working with what they are, which led me to make ha plates series.

– Joji Fukushima

About Joji Fukushima

Born in Japan, Joji Fukushima came to Canada as a teenager and up until now has operated a/i studio, a multi-disciplinary workshop providing design and fabrication services located in Vancouver, BC. His wooden furniture designs are a combination of simplicity and thoughtful functionality and are often born out of everyday necessity and the idea of adapting objects to suit individual needs. His connection to the materials is evident, regularly using offcuts of wood to minimize waste and change the way we view and interact with seemingly basic items.

a/i studio: www.i-divides-a.com

We hope you enjoy this opportunity to experience a sense of discovery of Joji Fukushima’s legacy in BC. As a final farewell, we are honoured to be presenting “Ha Plates 葉皿” at ITSUMO to celebrate the end of a chapter before he moves back to Japan at the end of 2021. Almost as if Fukushima himself will be leaving us a trail of shedding leaves, making room for new growth to breathe new life on his next journey.