Creator's Talk "Plum trees in my hometown and my thoughts on jewelry"

This series of posts, called "Creator's Talk," is designed to introduce the intentions and thoughts of the creators behind each creation.

In this third part, we are going to hear about the first collection,the Prunus Mume (plum blossoms, “Ume” in Japanese) series.

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ーWe want to ask you about the Prunus Mume series, which was mentioned in the previouspart. I heard it comes from your hometown's symbol, Dazaifu City.

That's right.

When I decided to focus on the plum motif, I started researching the plum tree.

It was something I was familiar with. But when I looked into it again, I found it interesting and began to think that there was a lot of meaning in creating with the ume motif.

ーWhat do you mean by that?

For example, the plum tree is more culturally significant in Japan than you might think, and there is even a story that in Michizane's time, when he was alive, the word "flower" referred to the plum tree.

Not only because it was Michizane's favorite tree, but also because of the legend of the flying plum tree(Tobi-Ume), the ume is still loved by the people of Dazaifu.

According to this legend, the plum tree in the grounds of the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine was planted by Michizane at his residence in Kyoto. When he was transferred from Kyoto to Dazaifu, the tree flew from Kyoto to Dazaifu in love with his master. The blossoming of these flying plum trees has become a tradition for the local people in the early spring.

Moreover, when plum blossoms, people used to enjoy its scent more than its appearance. In addition, plum fruit was used to make pickled plums, which were valued as a highly nutritious food.

Because of its excellent appearance and fragrance, as well as its practicality, not only Michizane but many other people loved it.

Today, the Prunus Mume is an elegant and beautiful flower that blooms at the end of winter, symbolizing perseverance to endure winter and bloom.

In the design of jewelry, I want to blend together not only my own roots, but also these historical and cultural aspects and the image I have of the plum tree.

ーI can really sense how you feel about the motif of the plum tree. Is there anything else that is important to you in the design of jewelry besides the motif?

I call it iconic jewelry, and I want it to represent the person who wears it. In other words, I want it to be worn as an icon that represents the person who wears it.

ーWhat exactly do you mean?

Yes, the basic idea is to try to make something that can accompany someone living.

There are three major elements.

First, you must have a story or philosophy appropriate to yourself.

Second, we pursue timeless design, not trends. We want our products to be something that can be worn for a lifetime or that can be passed on from one generation to the next.

And finally, we want to use high-quality materials. We want to make sure that our products are well-made. This is similar to the second reason.

There are other details, but those are the three main things we focus on.

ーNow I understand your approach to iconic jewelry. It would be a wonderful thing to have such jewelry.

Next time we will have a talk about pet jewelry.

Stay tuned for the next part!