(1 Jan 2012)
AP Television
Okesho Hayashi Shoten Showroom, Kyoto, October 18th, 2011
1. Various of bath pots (oke) and other containers in the Okesho Hayashi Shoten showroom.
2. Tilt up of wooden bath.
3. Pan of bath (stool, bath pot and tool for stirring the water on lid)
AP Television
Okesho Hayashi Shoten Workshop, Kyoto, October 18th, 2011
4. Various of craftsman cutting the material for a bath pot from a block of koyamiki wood.
5. Various of Yamamoto Daisuke as he begins to prepare the component parts of a bath pot.
6. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yamamoto Daisuke, 9th generation Oke craftsman:
"We do use Hinoki (cypress wood) but koyamaki (Japanese Umbrella pine) is used more frequently."
7. Various of Yamamoto preparing the component part of the pot.
8. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yamamoto Daisuke, 9th generation Oke craftsman:
"The reason that koyamaki (Japanese Umbrella pine) is so resilient against water is that it contains a high oil content. This makes the wood waterproof and prevents it from rotting."
AP Television
Kazashi The Suite Hotel,Kyoto, October 18th, 2011
9. Various of a bath filling with water made from koyamaki.
AP Television
Okesho Hayashi Shoten Workshop, Kyoto, October 18th, 2011
10. Various of Yamamoto Daisuke using a specialist plane to prepare the wood in the 3rd stage of a 20-30 stage process.
11. Close up of plane with curved base and blade.
12. Various of Yamamoto preparing the edges of the components with a different kind of plane.
13. Close up of Yamamoto offering a part up to a jig.
14. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yamamoto Daisuke, 9th generation Oke craftsman:
"Now I am the only craftsman working here, but during the 1st part of the 20th century the company employed around 20 craftsmen."
AP Television
Shijio Bridge, Kyoto, October 18th, 2011
16. Wide Kamogawa River
AP Television
Ponto Cho, Kyoto, October 18th, 2011
17. Exterior of Fuku traditional Japanese Inn overlooking the Kamogawa River.
18. Various of wooden bath and accessories in one of the bathrooms within the Inn.
AP Television
Okesho Hayashi Shoten Workshop, Kyoto, October 18th, 2011
19.SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yamamoto Daisuke, 9th generation Oke craftsman:
"After the Second World War things that had previously been made from wood began to be made from other materials like stainless steel and plastic. Because of this there was a period in which we were completely unable to sell our products."
20. Various of Yamamoto assembling the oke
21. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yamamoto Daisuke, 9th generation Oke craftsman:
"Learning the craft, just how to use one type of plane for example, takes a long time. But if you keep doing it you feel a tremendous sense of enjoyment when you complete a piece of work."
22. Various of Yamamoto finishing an oke
LEADIN:
Craftsmen who specialise in traditional Japanese wooden bath pot making are keeping their trade alive by selling items as living relics.
The Kyoto based Okesho Hayashi Shoten company has been making wooden baths and bath pots for more than two and a half centuries.
Now more units are going on display as examples of a bygone age than being sold for new bathrooms.
STORYLINE
An Oke can be either a wooden bath bucket or pot or a bath tub itself.
Bathers use the pots to pour water on their hair or body when they wash before entering the bath.
It is not customary in Japan to wash in the tub itself.
Oke are most commonly made of hinoki (Japanese cypress wood) or koyamaki (Japanese Umbrella-pine.)
Yamamoto Daisuke is now 35 years old and the ninth generation of craftsman to head his family's business.
====
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...