風鈴が鳴ったって涼しくなる訳ないさ、風鈴がチリンて鳴って風が吹いて来たことを知らせてくれるのさ、と職人が笑って話してくれたのは初めて写真を撮った、随分前のことだ。当時はもっと狭い作業場で昔ながらの炉に砕いたガラスを溶かし、炎熱の中から金属の吹き棒に絡め取って吹いていた。隣では絵付けだ、内側に裏から描かれるのが江戸風鈴だ、つまりいつまでも鮮やかな絵柄と音色が楽しめる。ファインダー越しには鳴ってなくても涼しげに見える。
It was quite a while ago when I shot him with my camera for the first time. Then he smiled and said, “The wind bell rings, it won’t make the air cool. It only tells you that there is a wind blowing.” The crashed glass was melted in a traditional furnace and in extreme heat, it was taken on a blowing iron. Next to him, there was an another craftsman painting on the bell. It is painted on the inside of the bell, which makes Edo wind bell very unique that the vivid color would not fade for long. Through the finder it looked that it brings cool air even though the bell is not ringing.
