11. The Technique — Lost-Wax Casting

Behind the quiet, crisp beauty of Shodo's works lies a meticulous technique that allows no second chances — a craft of a single attempt. Here, we introduce that technique: lost-wax casting. First, wax — beeswax mixed with pine resin — is warmed, and the original model of the work is shaped using the hands and bamboo spatulas. Shodo's supple, taut curves are already born at this wax stage. Next, the wax model is covered with a clay called matsuchi, "true earth," and dried thoroughly to form the mold. The thickness of the clay, and how well it dries, are crucial steps that decide the success or failure of the casting. When the dried mold is fired, the wax inside melts away, leaving only a hollow. At that moment, the wax original is completely lost, which is why every work is one of a kind. Into that hollow, molten metal, such as a copper alloy, is poured. If the temperature is off by even a little, the metal stops midway, and the work must be made again from the very beginning. For Shodo, too, this was the single-attempt step that demanded the greatest tension. When the metal has cooled and hardened, the mold is broken open, and at last the work makes its appearance. Then, through filing and polishing, and repeated coloring with chemicals, deep tones are born: gilt-bronze gold, antique bronze, and hanshido, a mottled purple bronze. On Sado, lost-wax casting is said to have begun in 1847, when Homma Takusai used the method to cast a cannon. From there, the technique was handed down from Miyata Rando the First to Sasaki Shodo. Shodo was an artist who fused this technique, nurtured by the island, with his own aesthetic sense and a modern feeling for form.