A GIFT FROM THE MOUNTAIN

The founder of Kunzan, Asada Kaoru (浅田薫) was born in 1904. He learned about casting iron from the Suzuki family and started the Kunzan Cast Iron in the year 1937. At present, the 3rd generation of the Asada Family, Sasaki Kazuo is the Nationally Certified Traditional Artist. Kunzan is well sought after in the market as they produce a very traditional style with an unchanged casting technique, and the selling price is reasonable.

The 3rd caster of Kunzan was Sasaki Kazuo who was born on 1945. Since young, he learned casting from Asada Kunzan. Today, the Kunzan brand is well known in Nanbu. The workshop was managed by Sasaki Kazuo, his family and a few workers. His son is the senior caster in his workshop.
Sasaki has another side to his character. His hobby is alpine river fishing and he is crazy about it. Kunzan's work shop is located in the suburbs of Morioka city where it is surrounded by the pristine and clear environment. His master skill in fishing also reflects his casting style. Once you use his kettle, you may notice that it is not only beautiful, but also very useful as fine fishing equipment.

There are 3 different styles of work shop in Nanbu casting. 1) Super High-End hand-made product that is almost equal to art, 2) Hand made fine equipment and 3) Mass production. Kunzan follows style No. 2). They maintain the traditional hand casting style. But they do also make an effort in reducing the production cost. Reducing cost does not mean they spend less effort or neglect to carry out some elements of work. Kunzan carefully select the design and pattern that enable them to re-use the mold a few times before discarding them. He believes that the more products he produces and introduces to the market, the more feedback and recognition he receives from his customers. Numerous feedbacks definitely reflect on his fine workmanship that continues in turn to refine his products. As the matter of fact, his products are fine works of art yet very functional.