NOUSAKU (能作)

About NOUSAKU

 

Located in the northwestern part of Toyama Prefecture, Takaoka is the prefecture’s second largest city with a population of about 170,000.
In the Edo Period (1611), in the castle town of Takaoka Castle, the lord of the castle, Maeda Toshinaga, invited seven Imoji (Shokunin or craftsman of metal casting) from nearby villages to set up a foundry.
For this reason, over 400 years later, Takaoka Copperware still holds the top share of the domestic casting market and continues to produce a wide range of products from small items such as Buddhist altar fittings and tea utensils to large items such as bronze statues and Bonsho (the bell of a Buddhist temple).

Vision / Passion

Nousaku was founded as a factory of manufacturing Buddhist altar fittings in Takaoka, the city of casting.
Over 100 year history, Nousaku continues to deliver products that combine the techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation.
As tin is soft and malleable, commonly, tin is processed as a product by adding other metals to make it harder. However, Nousaku challenged working with 100% tin to achieve something that no one has done before.
The process was a challenge, but one idea popped up. “If tin bends, so let it be”. This counterintuitive thinking led to the creation of a number of pure tin products that are representative of Nousaku works, including the bendable tableware “KAGO” series.

Nousaku Kago

In 2017, Nousaku opened the new office/factory which serves as a base of local tourism. Visitors can enjoy a factory tour, hands-on tin casting workshop, a cuisine using locally sourced ingredients served in Nousaku tin tableware. 
Children who used to take part in a factory tour now become young craftsmen here. 
In order to pass down the traditions which have been cultivated in 400 years history to the next generation. Nousaku is working on researching materials and technology and product development, aiming at manufacturing that can be proud of to the local community, Japan and even to the world.


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