SHIRONAMESHI Craftsman
Matomo Nitta Interview
The tanner’s mission is to bring back life to the leather after the animal is killed for food.
SHIRONAMESHI Craftsman
Matomo Nitta
SHIRONAMESHI practitioner. The representative of Shintoshi Seikakusho.
Nitta was born in Himeji, Hyogo prefecture in 1955. In 1973 he took over the family tanning business, using vegetable and chromium tanning methods. In 2000, he was inspired by the SHIRONAMESHI conservation group and started to research the method. He serves as the Vice President of Tanners’ Council of Japan and Executive Director of Japan Leather and Leather Goods Industries Association.
Vice-Chairman of Himetaka Leather Industry Association (2010 – 2016) Vice President of Tanners’ Council of Japan (2014 – 2016) Executive director of Japan Leather and Leather Goods Industries Association (2014 – 2016)
01 –
What is “SHIRONAMESHI”?
SHIRONAMESHI’s greatest feature is its process and finishing. Firstly, it uses only natural materials. The hide is soaked in river water and the hairs are removed by hand. Then the hide is kneaded with salt and rapeseed oil to soften it. In contrast, modern methods tend to use chemicals to melt off hairs and tannin and chromium to process hides. The leather processed by the SHIRONAMESHI method does not have any chemical smell. It smells purely of the leather’s original scent.
02 –
How was SHIRONAMESHI born, and what is its history?
We can trace the history of SHIRONAMESHI by looking at Engishiki, which is a historical record of production methods in different eras. Because there is a description of SHIRONAMESHI in the section about the Heian period, we know that SHIRONAMESHI is more than a thousand years old. We also know that tanning is a practice that came from China, as the Yamato, the native Japanese people, did not tan leather. However, there are no records that show how SHIRONAMESHI began. I believe that it developed gradually, over time, in tandem with changes to the Japanese lifestyle.
03 –
Is there any case that SHIRONAMESHI represents Japan’s history?
SHIRONAMESHI was used in daily life for clothing and shoes, despite the armor and harnesses historically being the main focus of the tanning industry. I read somewhere that in ancient times when the thread was not yet widely available, people used to wear the hides of the animals they ate. The hides were not very comfortable, so they kept looking for ways to make the hides softer. A thousand years later, these methods became the basis of today’s tanning technique. Another use of animal skin is to make glue by boiling the hide. This glue is basically collagen so it may also be eaten.
04 –
Why did SHIRONAMESHI grow in Himeji?
SHIRONAMESHI only uses natural material. The reason why the technique developed here is that the weather and environment here were suited for it. This place is a part of the Harima plain. There are more sunny days here than in other places, and there is also less rain. The humidity is mild and the wind is generally calm. The river Ichikawa, which passes through here, was used for transporting rawhides. The Seto inland sea is also nearby, just 30 minutes away by car. Salt was made there. Rapeseed oil was also made in this region. So this was the perfect place for SHIRONAMESHI to be born.
05 –
What do you think is the future of SHIRONAMESHI?
At present, I am the only SHIRONAMESHI craftsman in the world. This does not mean I will be the last. 20 years ago, I ran a factory specializing in tannin and chromium tanning. I then learned about SHIRONAMESHI and tried to develop it, using various methods and techniques, from scratch. Now that I have established my own method, I would like to focus my attention on nurturing successors. If the number of people who want to use SHIRONAMESHI leather increases, so will the number of craftsmen who want to create SHIRONAMESHI. I hope more people domestically and globally would come to like SHIRONAMESHI leather.
06 –
What is the rapture of SHIRONAMESHI?
The appeal of SHIRONAMESHI is similar to that of cooking. Does this ingredient inspire you? The leather I prepare is not the finished product. Designers and other craftsmen will use it for their own creations. With my leather as a starting point, these craftspeople will think about what color to dye it, what sort of finishing to add, and how to use my leather to express themselves. With careful deliberation, SHIRONAMESHI leather can exceed their imaginations.
07 –
Why is SHIRONAMESHI milky white?
This is no ordinary white color. This is the natural color of the animal’s skin. Skin owes its color to the blood that runs beneath it, but this leather contains no blood nor any other degradable components. In other words, it is colorless. Normally when an animal dies, microorganisms cause the body to decompose. Tanning is a process that arrests decomposition and preserves the condition of the skin. When I wonder what the ultimate leather is, I think of SHIRONAMESHI. What makes it the ultimate is that it is unfinished. Just as in cooking, how it will be used will be determined by the next person.
08 –
How much is SHIRONAMESHI produced now?
As I am alone, I can only do the work of one person. In terms of a number of animals, it is about 20 cows and 200 deer. But what I have done over the last 20 years is to simplify the process and to make it accessible to everyone. I have focused on this so that it would be easier to increase production. If the number of artisans increases and more people achieve mastery, the technique would evolve as well. As handcrafted products embody the personality of the craftsman, working with other craftsmen and learning from them will advance the SHIRONAMESHI method. So I hope that production, along with the number of craftsmen and users, will increase.
No leather nor individual should be discriminated against. It should be treated equally even if it has damage.
09 –
What does “tanning” mean to you?
In my work, the most important thing is life. Animals had their own lives until their flesh was taken by humans to sustain and extend their lives. Livestock is born, raised, and killed for this purpose. But after this, as a tanner, my mission is to return life to their skin. Tanning the hide gives it life. To breathe new life into leather requires wholehearted commitment. No matter what type of hiding you have or what condition the skin is in, you must not judge it. Even if there are scars on the hide you must treat all hides the same. Furthermore, there cannot be any mistakes. You must give your best at every stage to give life to the leather. It takes skill. It takes knowledge. Without skill and knowledge, you cannot do this work. I hope that the people who use my leather understand this.
Doing my best to bring back life. That is the technique. That is knowledge. This job can not be done without them.
10 –
How do you think about the environment and nature?
I work in nature, without chemicals, so I plan for all the byproducts to return to nature without harming it. The stripped hair fertilizes the soil. And although I do not deliberately feed the wildlife, after the oil hardens the birds and small animals will eat it in a blink of an eye. Natural things return to nature. What I admire about animals is that when they consume, they leave no trace. This cycle works perfectly until humans intervene and make a mess. This is how I feel about it.
11 –
Who do you want SHIRONAMESHI to be used by?
I hope that anyone who wants to see, touch, and use this leather will have the chance to do so. How this leather will eventually be used does not concern me. I’m not concerned with sales. It may come as a surprise, but besides bags, shoes, and clothes, thick leather can also be used for artificial limbs. According to people who make artificial legs, an artificial leg using SHIRONAMESHI leather “feels like a real leg”. This cannot be felt if ordinary leather is used; the feel of SHIRONAMESHI leather is reminiscent of an uninjured leg. SHIRONAMESHI is also said to be stronger than ordinary leather, so artificial limbs that use SHIRONAMESHI need to be repaired less often. As long as SHIRONAMESHI brings joy to others, it will continue to be my greatest source of satisfaction.
