About Sakami Kogei

The Sakami Kogei workshop in Tokyo is owned by Mr. Sakami, who has been engaged in metal processing for 26 years.

Although he is the founder, Mr. Sakami not strictly speaking the "first generation".

He was born into a family in Kyoto that has lived as metal workers for generations.

As Mr. Sakami says:

“My parents, my siblings, my cousins, my relatives, they all do metalwork.

There's metalwork everywhere you look - it's an ancient craft."

A large part of the production takes place on a heavy lathe, where round metal trays and plates are created. The traditional Japanese craft is called 'Hera Shibori'. It is a method where a sheet of metal is fixed in a mold and rotated while the sheet is pressed against the mold with a rod called a spatula. It takes great craftsmanship and experience to know exactly how to angle the spatula and how much force to put in. Finally, the tray is given a brushed finish by a traditional matting process called 'Metsuke'.