advanced courses that include
turning, lacquer work, tea ceremony,
flower arranging and more. Each year
they only accept five students and
with 28 teachers who are practising
turners, they get very intensive
training from the best in Japan.
One of these teachers is Master Torao
Nakajima and he has influenced and
encouraged a whole new generation
of turners. Most significantly in
an industry that used to be the
exclusive domain of men, half of the
graduates in recent years have been
women. In the coming years Japanese
woodturning will face many of the
same challenges that caused the
decline in Western turning, but
there are grounds for optimism.
Eiko Tanaka was one of the first
women graduates from the Yamanaka
Training Centre. Eiko strongly
believes she can bring a new attitude
to the making and selling of turned
products and has opened a coffee
shop/gallery called Faisons in
restored merchant premises.The shop was designed by her
architect husband Masanori
and they sustain each other
professionally and creatively. He
runs the coffee shop and she works
quietly in her own glass-enclosed
space while the customers sit
drinking coffee and watching her
work (photo 8). Eiko now sells
her work through Sara gallery in
New York City so she has already
circumvented the traditional limits
on style and marketing.The challenges for Japanese turning
are great, but the foundations are so
strong and the culture so rich that it
is unthinkable the Japanese turning
communities will let it fade away.
We should all hope they succeed.Photos: Terry Martinhttp://www.woodreview.com.au 59WOODTURNINGYuriko Nagata is a researcher with the
University of Queensland. Terry Martin is
a Brisbane-based wood artist, author and
curator. Email: [email protected]78