Yoichi Negishi | Coppersmith

MAKERS | ASIA | JAPAN | MULTIMEDIA Yoichi Negishi | Coppersmith Coppersmith Yoichi Negishi © Mark Luscombe-Whyte   Rooted in three generations of family knowledge, the art of making copper watering cans for Japanese bonsai has evolved through decades of experimentation, repair and close collaboration with specialist growers. Continuing a craft begun by his grandfather in 1944, one remarkable maker, Yoichi Negishi, founder of Tokyo-based Negishi Industry, combines inherited skill with an exacting understanding of materials, creating beautifully considered tools designed to last for generations.   [SECTION] How did you begin? During the war in 1944, my grandfather, a roofer for shrines and temples, started his business making everyday items out of rubble. They mainly made buckets, but they also made watering cans modeled after Haws watering cans. Then, during my father's time, he developed a copper watering can for Bonsai together with a Bonsai master. At the time, Haws watering cans were of poor quality and not suitable for Bonsai. I was born in 1976, and when I was three years old, I thought I was playing with my grandfather and father in the family factory, but I was actually helping make watering cans. In elementary school, I would help out after school. By middle school, I was making watering cans of a quality that could be sold. Even through high school, college, and as a system engineer, I continued making watering cans at home, even on weekends. When my father passed away in 2010, I quit my job as a system engineer after 14 years and became a full-time watering can manufacturer. How did you learn? Although I have never studied this subject in particular, by actively repairing other companies' watering cans, I have come to understand the ideas and passion of the people who made them, and I still use this knowledge when creating new watering cans. I am now the only person in Japan who can repair watering cans. Because of this relationship, many customers from overseas bring me broken watering cans that belonged to their fathers or grandfathers. How do you plan, prepare and create your works? Designers, such as Jasper Morrison-san, sometimes come to our facility, but we also work with specialists in each plant, such as Bonsai, roses, and orchids, to research watering cans that will provide the best performance, starting with choosing the right materials such as copper, stainless steel, and brass. We also produce watering cans tailored to the needs of specialists from 26 countries. Material manufacturers (copper, brass, stainless steel) are also making watering cans using new metals and testing the durability of these metals. [SECTION] Who or what most influences your works? Our customers have been using [our products] for about 40 years. We can identify areas that are prone to breaking, and update the watering can when we repair it. We also make watering cans for a wide variety of purposes, including for cleaning lines at miso and confectionery factories, for dyeing clothes, for the Imperial Household Agency, and for watering cans that cannot be used as weapons in prisons. What does a typical day look like for you? I wake at 8am and make the Watering Can while replying to emails and direct mail from Japan and other Asian countries. From around 5pm, I start replying to emails and direct mail from Europe while making the Watering Can. Around 10pm, I start replying to emails and direct mail from the US while working on my stamina. From 11pm, I go jogging, come home, and go to sleep. I now have a two-year-old daughter, so I have to prepare meals in between, take her to and from work when my wife can't, and drive her around in bad weather. When making the Watering Can, I avoid shoulder, back, and knee pain by balancing cutting, pressing, and soldering the boards. Interview by Barbara Spinelli Images from Mark Luscombe-Whyte

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