Totem is a project whose aim is to demonstrate that carving and lacquering wood by hand have their place in the contemporary world.
To do so, it plays on different design details such the visibility of wood grain and the thickness of angular geometrical shapes, carved in solid Horse Chestnut.
The traditional Urushi red lacquer is applied on the sides of each piece, layer after layer, creating an intense red stripe all around the wood. Distinctive reflections and textures interact where wood and lacquer meet, creating sensations with every glimpse or touch that only traditional craftsmanship and natural materials can offer.
This work assists the customer in feeling the materiality of the wood and lacquer and understanding that each bowl comes from a Japanese tree.
The stacking system, combined with the straight lines and angled curves of its profile, make Totem into a work of sculpture, with a highly decorative presence which emerges when the product is not in use.
These sculptural details give Totem an aesthetique value in keeping with Isuke’s high-end craftsmanship.
Isuke was founded in the late Edo period.
The company has produced natural lacquer products -such as purified lacquer and lacquerware- for more than 180 years. The Company has gained a wide following by combining design and functionality in ways which fit well with modern life.
They originally offered contemporary tableware made with traditional techniques in contemporary designs.
In 2014 they launched a new lacquerware brand "Isuke", with the cooperation and advice of domestic and overseas designers.
Toshiyuki Okino was born in Kobe in 1967 and had very little contact with Japanese traditional handicrafts while growing up. He majored in mathematics at Kyoto University and after graduation worked in the steel industry as a consultant on in-house data systems.
His first real exposure to lacquerware came after his marriage in 1995: his wife's father was the sixth-generation president of Isuke. He was fascinated by the beauty of lacquerware and the exquisite technique involved in producing it and so decided to join the company in 1998.
Now he is the seventh-generation president of Isuke, working to ensure that lacquerware fits in with the modern lifestyle. In order to do so and to pass on traditional lacquer technique to the next generation, Mr. Okino began to create new lacquerware products in collaboration with a variety of designers.
