Nogawa's expert workmen pouring molten bronze into moulds
Nogawa workshop was founded in 1825. Nogawa acted both as a manufacturer and dealer and ran a very popular shop on 22 Shijo
Otabicho, as well as showrooms in the Kyoto Hotel and the Miyako Hotel, the city’s most exclusive hotels. Although
there is surprisingly little documentation on the company, it appears to have been well-known at the time. It exhibited at
several large overseas exhibitions between 1893 and 1910.
In advertising, the company introduced itself as “a manufacturer of bronze and fine art wares”, which included garden items,
birds, animals, human figures, Buddhas, gongs and bells, vases, lanterns and small pieces. Nogawa also sold cloisonne ware,
damascene works, ivory carving, lacquer ware, pearls, prints and Satsuma ware.
Inside the workshop
Because of the lack of documentation, until recently Nogawa metalwork was identified as
being from the Hattori Co. It was only during the early 2000's that experts discovered that the distinctive mark
they had believed as belonging to Hattori, was actually Nogawa’s trade-mark. It features the stylized hiragana character [の] ("no")
with three vertical lines in the background signifying the kanji character for river [川] ("kawa", or "gawa" in compounds).
This is effectively pronounced as "Nogawa". This new discovery meant a drastic evaluation of Nogawa’s small but productive workshop.
Artists in Nogawa workshop got a salary of 3 sen (1.5 cents) per day. Several artists had been working in the Nogawa workshop. Their individual marks are provided below.
Participated in the following exhibitions:
1893: World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago, USA).
1915: Panama-Pacific International Exposition: "Gold and Silversmith's work" category.
1933: A Century of Progress International Exposition (Chicago, USA).
