Kinpaku: Japanese Gold Leaf – Chopsticks

For our first Kinpaku class on Saturday, September 19th, you’ll gild your own pair of chopsticks with Kanazawa gold leaf.

Kinpaku is Japanese gold leaf, beaten until it is one ten-thousandth of a millimetre thick — thin enough to lift on a breath. Almost all of it comes from one city: Kanazawa, where artisans have been beating gold for more than four hundred years.

You’ll first learn where Kanazawa gold leaf comes from and how it is made, then handle the leaf yourself and pick up the artisans’ techniques for cutting it, crumpling it and laying it down. Finally you’ll design your own pair of chopsticks — a clean band of gold, cut shapes, scattered flakes, a spiral, or something nobody has tried yet.

Your instructor seals each pair with a protective topcoat, and you take home the chopsticks you designed, boxed. Gold leaf cannot be lifted once it is down, so every pair is a one-take piece and no two ever come out the same.

No experience is necessary
Take home the pair of chopsticks you designed

The instructor is Hideko Koyama, who grew up in Nanao, Ishikawa — the same prefecture as Kanazawa. Space is limited, so early registration is recommended.

PLEASE NOTE: Registration closes 24 hours before the session. Cancellations made within 72 hours of the session are nonrefundable.