Handcrafted Japanese Onigawara (Gargoyle) - Fun and Relaxing Experience
In this video, we visit a Japanese Onigawara (Gargoyle) Master Craftsman, Mr. Toshio Yasukawa, who was the tile artist who helped in the restoration of the Himeji Castle from 2009 to 2015. This wasn't our first time making a traditional Japanese Onigawara. Back in 2019, my family came to Japan and made their own Onigawara. This video will show you how we made a much smaller version of the onigawara tiles that you would see on a temple, castle, or someone's home.
"Kawara" which is the root word in Onigawara, means ceramic tile. This style of tile work which came alongside the introduction of Buddhism in Japan in the 6th century. Temple architecture, tiling techniques, and Buddhism came from the mainland of Asia. The "Oni" part of the word Onigawara means demon or ogre. This label for this type of tile work can be confusing because the main purpose of the Onigawara is to ward away evil spirits. Onigawara, demon tiles, can be found all throughout Japan in different forms and variations. However, the main styling remains the same with certain traditional aspects always displayed regardless of where you are in Japan. You will find some Onigawara ornately decorated with flowers, hammers (magic mallets like ours), crescent moons, the sun, etc. This variety in styling is attributed to specific forms of luck. In the case, of ours we decided to place a magic mallet on the forehead of our Onigawara which represents money luck or an attraction of wealth.
The Onigawara is closely related to the gargoyle that is often found on buildings throughout Europe and America. However, the purpose of Onigawara is to ward of entering evil spirits into a sacred space like a temple. This was carried to castles and even people's homes. You can hang Onigawara in pairs with one tile showing an open mouth and another showing a closed mouth. This is also a representation of "AH" (open mouth) and "UN" (closed mouth) which in the Japanese language the first alphabet sound is "AH" and the last one is "UN" or (N). This is symbolic of the beginning and the end, the birth and death, or the alpha and omega and everything in harmony in between. In the case of orientation, Onigawara tiles or typically placed with the open mouth on the right and the closed mouth on the left. Depending on where you stand or where you look the orientation might be different. Some are stacked with the open mouth on the top ridge of a temple, castle, or house and the closed mouth on the corresponding lower ridge. If you were to hang your own Onigawara it is most useful to be hung over entry ways to block evil spirits from entering your home.
If you are interested in learning or making your own Onigawara you can reach out to Mr. Yasukawa who will provide you with a private class in his own studio. He only speaks Japanese, but other arrangements are possible. Check out his website at: oni-seisen.com/
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Special Thanks to:
Mr. Toshio Yasukawa
Videography:
K. Yamashita / G. Leopardi
Film Editor:
K. Yamashita
Cameras Used:
Olympus OMD EM-1 Mark III - HD (4k Video)
Sony ZV-1 - Vlogging Camera - HD (4k Video)