Lacquer art restorer HIRO KIYOKAWA
漆芸修復師 清川廣樹
Kiyokawa has been working as a “lacquer art restorer” using lacquer as a successor to the traditional techniques established in the Edo period for 50 years. It covers a wide range of subjects, including cultural properties, shrines and temples, Buddhist statues, ceramics, lacquerware, and antiques.
He has appeared on the BBC and NHK World, and has attracted attention from abroad as well.
He was invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give a lecture at the Benedict XVI Hall in Vatican City in 2022. Starting with that, he also give lectures at museums and educational institutions in various countries, Rome, Faenza, and Venice (Italy), Lugano (Switzerland), and London and Oxford (UK).
In 2024, he began a special course on lacquer art restoration at a restoration school in Venice, bringing together restoration specialists from all over Italy, and has started a full-scale human resource development program for the preservation and succession of excellent Japanese lacquer art works that lie overseas.
In Kyoto and Tokyo, he also runs a class on classical kintsugi, which is also used in the restoration of cultural properties, to convey the splendor of natural materials and craftsmanship to the public.
He has written a text for a Japanese language textbook for second-year junior high school students, which will be adopted in the 2025 school year.
He is actively involved in creating successors and preserving culture through corporate and non-profit activities.
50年にわたり、江戸時代に確立された伝統技法の継承者として漆を用いた「漆芸」修復に携わる。
その対象は、神社仏閣、仏像などの文化財や陶磁器、漆器、古美術品など多岐にわたる。
イギリス公共放送BBCやNHK Worldへ出演し、海外からも注目を集める。
外務省の招聘で2022年バチカン市国ベネディクト16世ホールを皮切りに、ローマ・ファエンツァ・ヴェネチア(イタリア)、ルガーノ(スイス)、ロンドン・オックスフォード(イギリス)など各国の美術館・教育機関で講演活動を行っている。
2024年より、イタリア全土から修復専門家を集め漆芸修復の特別講座をヴェネチアの修復家養成学校において開講するなど、海外に眠る日本の優れた漆芸作品の保存・承継のための人材育成を本格的にスタートさせた。
京都・東京で自然素材と職人文化の素晴らしさを伝えるために、文化財修復にも通ずる古典的な金継ぎ教室も主宰。
2025年度より採用される中学二年生を対象とした国語教科書のための文章を執筆。
企業活動やNPO活動を通じて、後継者作りや文化保持に意欲的に取り組んでいる。
Representative of Shitsugeisha Co., Ltd., and Director of the NPO ROLE. Instructor of “Kyoto-studies” at Kyoto University in 2023, “Kintsugi” Instructor at Urasenke Gakuen Professional College of Chado
株式会社漆芸舎 代表取締役社長/特定非営利活動法人ROLE 代表理事/京都学 2023年講師/学校法人茶道裏千家学園 「金継ぎ」客員講師
Kiyokawa’s first work of writing will be reprinted
This book introduces the history of kintsugi, craftsmanship culture, aesthetic sense and sensibility of kintsugi to people both in Japan and abroad, as well as his designs that express his aesthetic sense and sensibilities, as well as the reasons why it has gained popularity overseas, along with impressive anecdotes. This is a book where you can learn about the attraction of Kintsugi, which is not only beautiful.
Price:3,300 yen (tax included)