From Self-Taught to Metalwork Artisan: Emi Sashou's Journey of Handicraft and Family at Jewelry Sashou

2025.11.12

#Artisan

#Tokyo

#Traditional Crafts

#Metalworking

#Japanese Culture

#Living with Tradition

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#Traditional Crafts

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"An artisan's work is incredibly fun, you know," says Emi Sashou with a laugh. She's a metalwork artisan at Jewelry Sashou, her workshop-and-shop in Koto City, Tokyo.

While she was an office worker, she studied metalworking after hours. Today, she runs the workshop with her husband Shinichi, the third-generation owner. Juggling child-rearing and family care, her journey has been powered by the joy of creation. We sat down with her to discuss her passion for handicraft, a path she has forged while embracing her roles as a "mother," "wife," and "artisan."

PROFILE

Emi Sashou

Metalwork Artisan, Jewelry Sashou

Born in Oita Prefecture and raised in Toyama Prefecture. She studied metalworking while employed as an office worker before becoming a full-time artisan. After marrying, she joined Jewelry Sashou, where she works alongside her husband as a metalwork artisan, creating pieces such as remade jewelry.

A Passion for Creation Opened the Door to Becoming an Artisan

Born into a family of music lovers, Emi played the violin as a child and later studied foreign languages in college. It was during her senior year, she says, that she stumbled upon the path to becoming a metalwork artisan.

"When I tried to picture a future working at a company, it just didn't feel right. I remembered how much I loved creating things and all things sparkly, and I suddenly thought, 'I want to try metalworking!'"

But with no artisans in her circle, the path wasn't clear. She considered saving up after graduation for a vocational school, but her eagerness to "start immediately" pushed her to get a corporate job and attend metalworking classes in the evenings.

"I got completely hooked, very quickly. I was taking classes at two different schools, visiting all sorts of tool shops and artisans—I just absorbed everything I could, relentlessly."

She would study after work until the last train home. She used her paid holidays and summer vacation to travel, even going to Bali to learn silver filigree techniques. Her salary and bonuses were spent on tools until she had built a small, three-tatami-mat workshop in her own home. Her passion bore fruit; she started selling her creations at exhibitions, and the path to becoming a professional artisan slowly opened up.

"If you pour your heart into something, someone will eventually give you a chance. About three years after I started learning, I got offers to join a designer's studio in Kamakura and a lost-wax casting team in Okachimachi. I decided then to quit my corporate job and commit to life as an artisan."

There, she met her future husband, Shinichi, who was a teammate. Shinichi, who came from a family of metalworkers and was apprenticing as a lost-wax artisan, became someone Emi could always turn to for advice.

"When I was working late into the night to meet a deadline, he would often call, worried, and ask, 'Are you okay?'. We discovered we clicked in surprising ways, like our taste in food. We started grabbing dinner after work or taking strolls through Ueno Park, and we slowly became close."