Inlay ( inlaid )

~ imitates .fit ~

The letter "象"zou meaning is "to be modeled".The letter "嵌" kan means "to put in". There are goldsmith inlay, carpenter inlay and Sue inlay, etc. by the meaning to say that the meaning of the inlay origin puts the heterogeneous material in one of material. You assume goldsmith inlay in it was born in Damascus in Syria and that transmitted to Japan in the Asuka period via the silk road. An excellent craftsman was born as a lot in Kyoto in the Edo Period, and displayed their skills in manufacture of a Japanese sword, armor, a mirror, a netsuke, a letter box and a nest of boxes. Colored wood, bone particle, shell and chinaware as well as metal are used as the material.