Development of Nanbu Tekki Ironware for foreigners combining traditional technology inheritance

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K00212
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 01070:Theory of art practice-related
• Research Institution: Iwate University
• Principal Investigator: Abe Hiroyuki 岩手大学, 人文社会科学部, 教授 (20222664)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 田中 隆充 岩手大学, 人文社会科学部, 教授 (20374861)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 南部鉄器

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, a questionnaire on the preferences for Nanbu tekkis concerning 46 design proposals in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, was administered along three countries/regions in Asia: China (mainland), Taiwan, and Thailand. 424 people participated in the questionnaire. Each participant selected the five most preferred options from the 46 design options. The 46 design options in the questionnaire were randomly distributed, and the participants were seeing the designs for the first time. The top five options with the highest number of choices per region were analyzed and compared using the chi-square test. The analysis shows that there is consistency in the reasons for choosing Nanbu tekki designs across these three countries/regions. To inform product design positioning, these findings will help designers and manufacturers understand the needs of users in different regions and facilitate the development of products that target the majority of user preferences.

Free Research Field

鋳造

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

南部鉄瓶は海外での需要が高いが、国や地域によって鉄瓶の使い方や上述のデザインの好みの差異があるため，造形表現の難易度が高い。また、ニーズに合わせると量産に適さない造形を見極めるのが難しい．本研究ではデザインプロセスの川上に位置する，発散的な造形のバリエーションをデザインし，その後，工芸の専門家に一品物の鉄瓶に適しているのか，または，量産性のある造形であるかを確認，整理し分析を行い、とりわけインバウンドにより海外ユーザをターゲットにし伝統的工芸を発信できたことは学術的意義だけではなく、伝承性を考慮すると社会的な意義も高い。