Wood inlay Sadaji Uchida 4
- ━ From one negative how many copies can you produce?
- he stroke of the jigsaw is about 3cm, but a negative cannot be made so thick. However I file the blade of the plane and from a 2cm piece I have made about 200 copies. I sell one copy at a time so I can’t make money unless the copies are sliced very thin.
- ━ From `Ukiyoe` to `Kitty Chan` you have a wide range of patterns don’t you?
- I produce works I’m interested in like Ukiyoe, the crane, the carp and so on, however other patterns are made on request from wholesalers. I have also made a lily on request by the Kanagawa prefecture. When I was young I made a lot of souvenirs, but after I turned 50 I talked with wholesalers and started producing more difficult pieces like the Ukiyoe. As time became more precious the price of the works rose, however at that time there weren’t many people producing Ukiyoe so even though they were expensive I could sell them. It was difficult but I learnt a lot from making the pieces. Even when I finish pieces I regret not making them in a different ways, that’s why I say I have never been satisfied.
- ━ You have been working as an inlay master for the last 70 years, In terms of income is it stable?
- I work 365 days a year, from morning until late in the evening, so my wife controls our life and work. This has continued even though she started work as a nurse. My income went up and down like a wave and at the time of the Korean War other people in the wood-inlaying field went out of business, but I earned money doing earthwork, and kept my business open. My wife understood me and worked as a nurse and let me continue doing the work I love.
- ━ When slicing negatives, do both you and your wife do the big planning work together?
- Yes, instead of asking someone else to help me, my wife knows how much force is needed to work the big plane. Also after slicing the negative my wife does all the ironing needed.
