(*Supplementary note: After writing this I realized it's not true! I was born and raised in Hokuriku area where most kawaras are deep black, so I have believed that kawaras are black. But I see various colors of kawaras in my current area in Kansai, like red, light gray, deep gray, blue and green... and kawaras in these different colors are mixed in the town. So now I guess the reason why I felt different at that time is because I didn't see such kawaras in various colors other than light-gray kawaras in Awaji.)
Tatsumi, an Ibushi-gawara manufacturer in Awaji, allowed us to look around its factory and gallery. You see the above picture of part of the company building (or rather it looks like a house), with their beautiful Ibushi-gawaras on its top and those piled up on the ground.
Mr Okitsu, the president of Tatsumi, explained for us the company has been making rooftop decorations in the shape of oni,, which is called "oni-gawara". Oni is an imaginary demon that appears in many old Japanese tales, but is sometimes described as good existence too. I guess when the oni-gawara is placed on the roof, it is considered to be a talisman. Here is one of their biggest oni-gawara.
It is said production of Ibushi-gawara is a traditional industry in Awaji. It is said kawaras originally came down from China about 1400 years ago, and production was started here in Awaji a little while after that.
According to Mr Okitsu, the craftsmen of oni-gawara, who are called "oni-shi", make such a big oni-gawara using a mold, but usually they do not use a mold to make kawaras but make them with their hand. They shape cray used as the material of kawaras into such a complicated and delicate decoration. The shaped material is baked in a large furnace at about 1000 degrees for 24 hours. The time taken to finish one product depends on the size and other factors. In the case of a big one as the oni-gawara in the picture, they say it takes three months.
When we were looking around the factory, a few craftmen were working. One of them were making not kawaras but coasters using the same material. In addition to kawaras, they also make small items like those coasters, flower bases, and even metalophones! (Actually the metalophone is not for sale but just a trial piece.)
I asked Mr Okitsu why they are making such products besides kawaras, and he smiled and said "Of course our main job is making kawaras, we can't make money with these tiny goods. But sometimes people like you visit us, and we thought they would be happy if they can get some souvenirs here! And we want them to get more interested in kawaras."
There were as much as several hundreds of kawara factories in Awaji, but the number has reduced to several dozen because of decrease in demand for kawara. Those small goods and prototypes are Tatsumi's trial and effort to leave their traditional culture of Awaji to posterity.
I got a chopstick rest in the shape of miniture scale kawara before leaving the gallery.
Here's the link of Tatsumi's website (Japanese only, but you can see lots of beautiful products of them!): http://www.tatsumi-oni.co.jp/
