Seigado Metalwork

Tales of a Century (Hyakunen-Monogatari)

"Tales of a Century (Hyakunen-Monogatari)" is a branding project from Niigata that aims to create items that inspire a new lifestyle—one to be enjoyed, cherished, and passed down through generations. These items are meticulously crafted in small batches, designed to last a lifetime. The elder son, Nishikata Ryota, contributed to this project with his specially crafted sake carafe and guinomi sake cups.

Tin Sake Utensils

Tin has been used for over 500 years to purify and preserve water due to its resistance to decay. Recently, tin sake cups have gained attention from sake breweries for their ability to mellow the taste of sake, leading to their popularity in breweries, liquor stores, and restaurants

Seigado's tin products, especially their sake cups, are thoughtfully designed to fit comfortably in the hand. The hammered finish enhances both the surface and luster, making each moment of enjoying sake truly special.

Copperware

Since its founding, Seigado has been committed to mastering the art of copper coloration. While preserving traditional techniques, they continually push the boundaries of technological development to enhance quality and introduce new innovations.

You can enjoy Seigado's uniquely distinctive indigo blue and red hues beautifully showcased in their copperware.

Indigo Blue Color

Seigado has perfected a method to achieve a deep indigo blue on copper by first forming, cleaning, and sulfurizing the metal for a rust-like appearance. The pieces are polished and then treated with a traditional patination solution to create an indigo blue hue. The final color is carefully adjusted based on daily variations in temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors.

Golden Brown Color

After shaping a copper sheet, it's cleaned to remove any residues and then treated with a sulfurizing solution for a rusted appearance. Each piece receives careful attention, with black preserved in the hammered indentations to highlight shadows, while the rest is polished off. The piece is then soaked in a patination solution to achieve a golden brown color.

With careful use over time, each piece develops a deeper, richer patina, enhancing its charm and character.

Red Color

Seigado’s signature red color is achieved by heating copper close to its melting point, forming an oxidized layer on the surface through rapid cooling. In Seigado's works, the vibrant red is called beniiro, while akaneiro describes a red with beautifully blended patches of blue and brown.

In hammered copperware, tinning red-colored pieces can ruin the hue, while achieving the red color after tinning burns off the tin. This has made it nearly impossible to combine red copper and tin in a single piece. Seigado’s red sake cup is a remarkable achievement, made possible by their innovative approach to metalwork.

Golden Purple Color

This color is created by welding tin onto copper, then carefully processing and shaping the material. The final steps involve oxidizing the surface to turn it black, followed by soaking it in a patination solution to reveal a golden purple hue.

Using traditional techniques, the hammered copperware reveals a deep blue that can appear pale green in sunlight. With careful use, the piece gains more character and depth, evolving into a richer, more nuanced color over time.

Golden color

Seigado's golden hue is achieved by welding tin onto the surface of copper, creating an alloy on just the surface, followed by shaping and treating it with a patination solution. Although maintaining consistent coloration can be challenging, the welded tin provides a rich and expressive finish.

Sentoku (Reddish Brown) Color

After shaping, the copperware is thoroughly cleaned and polished to remove any traces of dirt or oil. It is then immersed for an extended period in a time-honored coloring process, allowing the color to slowly deepen into a rich reddish-brown. This color, known as sentoku at Seigado, exudes an aura of nobility.