A circle of friends connected by gootouchi! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On September 4, Toshihiko Takayama, a bricklayer and representative of Takayama Brick Architectural Design, will appear. In this interview, we asked him about how he became a bricklayer, the nature of his work, and the appeal of brick architecture.
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Fateful encounter with a bricklayer at Fuji Rock
Celeina (MC): First up for the week is the program’s nominee, and Takano’s nominee, Toshihiko Takayama, bricklayer and head of Takayama Brick Architectural Design.
Takano(MC): Nice to meet you.
Takayama: Hello, I am Toshihiko Takayama. Nice to meet you.
Takano: First of all, I would like to explain to the listeners that there was a sort of dice roll project for “Fuji Rock,” and that is how we decided on our mission.
Celeina: Yes, something we have to do, so….
Takano: One of the missions was to find a guest for “FIST BUMP,” and I was wandering around the Fuji Rock venue with my eyes peeled for someone interesting. Then I met him at DAY DREAMING.
Takayama: Yes, on the mountain.
Takano: Yes, we met on the mountain. We happened to have a mutual acquaintance, and he connected us.
Celeina: Doesn’t today’s weather feel a bit like DAY DREAMING?
Takano: It does! It reminded me of many things.
Takayama: It was a fateful encounter.
Takano: I mean, we really met by chance.
Celeina: I’m so glad. First of all, let me give you a brief profile of Mr. Takayama. He has been a bricklayer for three generations, starting out at the age of 18, and after succeeding to the third generation, he has been involved in various brick constructions from contemporary architecture to restoration and preservation, including the Shinanomachi Brick Building, the Harumi Triton Redevelopment Project, and the Hakodate Central Library. In 2014, he established Takayama Brick Architectural Design Co. You are also involved in a variety of activities, such as producing artwork using bricks, giving lectures, and participating in symposiums on the theme of the restoration of craftsmanship and this area.
Takano: Yes. So, when I first met Mr. Takayama, he told me he was a bricklayer, a bricklayer! I asked him if he would be my guest.
Takayama: You must have been quite surprised.
Takano: Yes, I was very surprised. I didn’t know anyone around me who worked with bricks.
Celeina： There aren’t many people around me either.
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I wanted to be a sculptor, but I found myself becoming a bricklayer.
Takano: Come to think of it, I felt that bricks are quite rare. And actually, there are not that many bricklayers in Japan, are there?
Takayama：Yes, as far as I know, there are 50 or 60 bricklayers like us who are involved in construction. They are already an endangered species, a craftsman in the red zone.
Celeina: That’s amazing. I apologize for being a real beginner, but what exactly do bricklayers do?
Takayama：You all know the story of “The Three Little Pigs” in which the youngest child builds a very strong brick building and finally chases away the wolf. So, from public buildings to private buildings to landscapes, I am working to pile bricks on the exterior walls of buildings.
Celeina：I see. In “The Three Little Pigs” the little pig piles up bricks so easily and effortlessly, but in reality, it takes a lot of calculation and time to create a single building, doesn’t it?
Takayama: From the very beginning, with gravity on our side, we piled up about 1,000 or 1,500 bricks from the first level to the highest level. It is a tremendous amount of work, but I think the fact that we enjoy doing it is because it is so fascinating.
Takano: Do you still need mathematical skills, a sense of style, or knowledge?
Takayama: Yes, it does. Since the material requires a great deal of structural elements, it is difficult to become a first-rate craftsman without a certain amount of mathematical or numerical skills in one’s head.
Celeina：I see.
Takano: Since both your grandfather and father were bricklayers, did you always want to be a bricklayer?
Takayama: Actually, I didn’t have the slightest idea that I wanted to be a bricklayer at that time. When I graduated from high school at the age of 18, I wanted to be a sculptor. I didn’t want to go to school or anything, but I wanted to go to Italy and train as a sculptor under a master. But I needed to save up money to go there, so I quickly asked my father to let me have a part-time job. It was the height of the bubble economy, and the construction industry was quite lucrative. I was allowed to work part-time for about a year, and when I had saved up enough money, I said, “Dad, I’m leaving soon. I thought it couldn’t be helped, so I helped for another six months, and after six months, when I finally said, “Dad, I’m leaving,” he said, “Toshihiko, you’re abandoning me, aren’t you?
Takano: It was a sneaky thing to do (haha).
Takayama: It was really sneaky. After another six months, I said, “Toshihiko, maybe you should learn a few words.” I was also a simple person, so I thought, I should learn a few words for about six months. So I was tricked, tricked, tricked into becoming a craftsman.
Takano: There may have been some kind of strategy on your father’s part.
Takayama: I think he was probably quite strategic.
