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Gold leaf is like a veil of light, whose thickness can measure a mere 10,000th of 1 millimeter (0.0001 mm).
The city of Kanazawa, thanks to its favorable climate and water quality, dominates Japan's production of metal leaf. The city produces 99 percent of the nation's gold leaf and all of its silver and brass leaf as well as uwazumi, which is a bit thicker than metal leaf.
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Historical documents don't pinpoint the exact time when Kanazawa first began producing gold leaf. But it's believed that there were craftsmen in the former Kaga region (toda's Ishikawa Prefecture) before Toshiie Maeda, the lord of the Kaga domain, moved into Kanazawa Castle in 1583.
At the end of the seventeenth century, the Edo government established a "Hakuza" market in Edo (today's Tokyo) to control the manufacture and sales of gold and silver leaf throughout Japan. At that time, manufacturing gold leaf was banned outside of the markets of Edo and Kyoto. Thus craftsmen in Kanazawa were not able to manufacture or sell the product. But even so, they strove to establish their own metal-leaf manufacturing industry.
Control over the industry ended with the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when the Edo Shogunate returned political power to the Emperor. In subsequent years, the manufacture and sales of Kanazawa metal leaf became known nationwide. |
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In addition to Kanazawa's climate, craftsmen's experience and creativity during the time of the government's long-held control helped cultivate excellent techniques, which have been passed down to this day.
Sleekly formed and beautifully radiant, gold and silver leaf is an integral part of the Kaga region's rich culture of artistic crafts.
The world-class traditional skills of Kanazawa provide light and happiness to the everyday lives of people today. |
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