A Brief Glossary of
Traditional Japanese Metalworking
Courtesy of Georgiy Shoulga, http://www.smokingsamurai.com/NONUME_ZOGAN.htmlHira zogan: inlay of sheet metal fl ush with the base metal
Hira shizuku zogan: inlay of dots made fl ush with the surface
Hon zogan: fl ush inlay made by fi rst cutting grooves in metal, then undercutting
them, and hammering in wire or sheet metal fl at with the base metal plane
Ito zogan: very fi nely worked variation in which gold/silver threads are pressed
down into hairline incisions
Kinkeshi zogan, ginkeshi zogan: gold and/or silver amalgam inlay
Kirihame zogan: metal pieces are soldered together with high temperature
solder (brazing). The resulting piece looks the same from front and back. In
the west the technique is known as “marriage of metals.”
Nawame zogan: inlay of compound, multi-metal twisted wire
Shippou zogan: incised areas are fi lled with vitreous enamel instead of metal
Shizuku zogan: raised dot or domed dot inlay, also called “raindrop” and “toad
skin” inlay
Suemon zogan: fi gural pieces of contrasting metal are attached to the surface
with soft solder and left in high relief
Sumi zogan: edges of the incised area are chiseled with slanting sides instead
of straight ones; the resulting edge gradients resemble an ink painting
Takaniku zogan or taka zogan: inlay of raised or high relief forms made of solid
sheet metal, repoussé-worked sheet, or cast metal forms. These forms can
also be carved, engraved, or themselves inlaid
Uttori zogan: large, thick pieces of cast metal are set in a surrounding fl ange
and the projecting inlaid metal is then carved or inlaid with other metalsNonume
Necessaires
BACK IN THE DAY, exquisite
jewelry techniques were often
applied to the creation of what
were called necessaires in the
west. These are fi nely crafted
functional objects that we see
pretty much only in movies
today, such as hand fabricated
gold cigarette cases or sewing
kits. Nonume is just the sort of
technique to turn the merely
functional into the extraordinary.
According to Georgiy
Shoulga of Smoking Samurai,
there are dozens of specialized
Japanese metalworking tech-
niques that create intricate
patterns and textures in diff erent
metals. Zogan techniques span a
wide range of inlay and fusion
processes that included surfaces
that are fl at, ridged, twisted, dot-
ted, enameled, mounded, a
frog-skin-like texture, and on and
on. Each represents a separate
discipline, history, and applica-
tion, and each achieves a very
diff erent look.
Shoulga, a Ph.D. student fi n-
ishing his doctorate in nonlinear
optics, is the passionate collec-
tor and nunome zogan authority
behind the Smoking Samurai
website. “I’m a physicist by
profession, but I collect nunome
zogan and other Japanese
cigarette cases of the Early Meiji
to Middle Showa eras (1890-
1940). I love their incredibly fi ne
details.” Astoundingly detailed
and entirely handmade (no
machinery existed then to mass-
produce them), each cigarette
case took weeks or even months
to create and is a marvel in the
true sense of the word.
Shoulga purchased his fi rst
nunome zogan piece in 2011. “It
was a very detailed, gold inlaid
cigarette case by the artist
Ashizuki, which I accidentally
found on eBay when looking
for a gift for my wife.” Since
then, Shoulga and his network
of collaborators and colleagues
have dedicated thousands of
hours to identifying the artists
who created these beautiful and
intricate cases, and they encour-
age enthusiasts to contact them
with information or questions.Inlay
Pendant
Shibuichi, shakudo,
silver, goldMAY/JUNE 2020 29
26 Haag_CulturalFusion_mayjune20.indd 29 3/16/20 3:39 PM