Well, I intended to do a YouTube video about this, but after months of sitting on this write up, I feel that it may never happen. It’s a tremendous waste of time for this to remain hidden on my PC, so I decided to post this in my blog in text format.
I’m somewhat of a lacquer enthusiast and my collection grows every year. I wrote this as a means to gain a deeper appreciation for these products, and though it might help to inspire you to begin such a collection; this article is mostly for myself.
Lacquer
Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Japan posseses lacquered relics from the jomon period, about 7000 years ago. The jomon period is between 14,000 to 2323 years ago.
This video is neat, I recommend it as a primer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJknAo0temI
Asian lacquerware, which may be called “true lacquer”, are objects coated with the treated, dyed and dried sap of Toxicodendron vernicifluum or related trees, applied in several coats to a base that is usually wood. This dries to a very hard and smooth surface layer which is durable, waterproof, and attractive in feel and look. Asian lacquer is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved, as well as dusted with gold and given other further decorative treatments.
In modern techniques, lacquer means a range of clear or pigmented coatings that dry by solvent evaporation to produce a hard, durable finish. The finish can be of any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss, and it can be further polished as required. Lacquer finishes are usually harder and more brittle than oil-based or latex paints, and are typically used on hard and smooth surfaces.[citation needed]
In terms of modern finishing products, finishes based on shellac dissolved in alcohol are often called shellac or lac to distinguish them from synthetic lacquer, often called simply lacquer, which consists of synthetic polymers (such as nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate butyrate (“CAB”), or acrylic resin) dissolved in lacquer thinner, a mixture of various organic solvents.[2] Although synthetic lacquer is more durable than shellac, traditional shellac finishes are nevertheless often preferred for their aesthetic characteristics, as with French polish, as well as their “all-natural” and generally food-safe ingredients.
I want to re-state that lacquer is just the coating. That the material lacquer is applied to significantly affects price, and very likely customer appreciation as well. It is common these days for reasons such as cost and consistency to use wood polypropylene (wood dust and plastics fused together) as the base of the lacquer. The end user never interacts with the plastics as they are beneath the layer of lacquer, but this does contribute to adding more ‘unnatural’ things to the world.
Though a few things could contest it; Lacquer could be considered the symbol of Japanese art culture. As the Western world once called finely made porcelain-ware’s ‘China’ – the world called the fine lacquers of Japan ‘Japan’ – as in, “You have such a beautiful collection of Japan!”
As with seemingly everything in Japan, there are areas that historically specialize in lacquers production and continue it to this day.
The focus of this article will be about Wajima, a town in the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa prefecture that is perhaps lacquerwares most prestigious source.
The most renowned lacquerware zone of Japan is Ishikawa and Fukui prefectures. Lacquer from Ishikawa is not always from Wajima, but Wajima is Ishikawa’s most famous locale, and I believe Wajima carries the respect of best lacquer in Japan. You can find Wajima directly West of the current city of Noto. Noto used to be the provincial name (before it became Ishikawa) and at that time, Wajima was a town of Noto. Wajima city is a fishing city that invites tourism through its lacquer arts, both modern and historical.
Fukui prefecture was once called Echizen, now Echizen is a city in Fukui. These days I feel Echizen is the most famous region for lacquer outside Wajima. The town of Wakasa, in Obama city, Fukui, is about an hours drive from Echizen, and also well respected. Wakasa creates about 80% of Japan’s lacquer chopsticks
Wakasa video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3sEoZjNsPg
Iwate has a city called Ninohe that makes a style of lacquer called Joboji. Joboji to my eyes is noticeably matte in finish compared to lacquer from other areas of Japan, I have a set of wood bowls that to my knowledge are Joboji.
Urushiware from the south of Iwate is called Hidehira. There is a heavy emphasis on gold foil and maki-e. There also seems to be a characteristic coral pink pigment that is used here as well.
Iwate Lacquer video :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMjVBks9k8Y
The city of Tsugaru in Aoyama prefecture does lacquer too, and here’s a video for that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZzUEqGdipw
Wajima :
Like many of Japan’s culturally significant arts, one person does not work alone to complete a piece, but instead specializes in certain steps, these crafted objects are formed by a team of specialists working together. Many people are involved in the creation of Wajima lacquerware – from those who look after the urushi tree fields, to those that harvest the trees. Those that refine the urushi and those that apply it. Those that create the wooden bases and those that paint the nearly finished products. There are masters at every level, and their combined efforts really give Wajima an advantage in the market compared to lacquer from elsewhere.
The durability and longevity of Wajima-ware is what makes it renowned. If taken care of properly, it easily lasts over 100 years of use. Lacquer gets stronger over time if it is kept in an environment with high humidity.
Within the Showa Era (1926-1989) artists began showing their work at expos, and wajima was solidified as the representative lacquer region of the country. Towards the end of this Showa Era, the government of Japan recognized some of the lacquer products as ICH (intangible cultural heritage) and this decision solidified these wares and their producers as benchmarks for what the country has accomplished.
There are 2 important aspects to Wajima lacquer production that distinguish it from other areas:
- The effort put into the wooden base,
- A reinforcement technique using hemp cloth + diatomaceous earth.
Making the base:
Several types of woods are traditionally used in Japan, but the city of Noto is abundant in Cypress and Elm.
There are 4 types of bases, and artisans that specialize in them.
- Bowls and Circular trays (wan kiji or hiki mono kiji)
- Circular trays and Lunch Boxes (Mage mono kiji)
- Small intricate decorative pieces (kuri mono kiji)
- Square and Rectangular trays and boxes (Sashimo no kiji or kaku mono kiji)
Wankiji – Hikimonokiji:
Wood is turned on a lathe and cored to the desired size. In an effort to make the lightest ware possible, these bowls are made so thin that light can be seen through the wood grains. The delicacy of the wooden bowl is irrelevant to the strength of the final product because lacquers strength comes from the lacquer itself and reinforcement methods.
Sashimonokiji – Kakumonokiji:
Thin strips of wood are soaked in water to make them pliable and bent along a wheel. The curved pieces are glued together and sanded until it appears to be a solid piece. The frame is attached to a base with lacquer as the adhesive.
Magemonokiji:
Typically using Cypress, using a similar technique to Sashimonokiji, soaked strips of wood are bent to a desired shape, glued, dried, sanded and assembled. This method of production can produce shapes that cannot be obtained by spinning on a lathe.
Kurimonokiji:
The most detailed of the wooden bases are made of Magnolia tree wood. It’s a very fine grained wood which makes it easy to carve intricate designs into.
Regardless of the base shape, the first step of lacquering is called ‘kijikatame’ to which a layer of urushi and _________ are applied. This builds a foundation for everything to come. This step is one of urushis major reasons for its durability.
In the process of creating urushi lacquer, urushi trees are carved with special tools that dig grooves into them. The cut has to be deep enough to draw its sap, but shallow enough to not harm the trees interior. A tree must not be overharvested either, it must be given time to heal after it has been drained.
The sap taken from the tree has its impurities removed with a filter, but in this unprocessed state it is called kiurushi (tree urushi). It is further refined by heating the urushi up to evaporate the water content. Refined urushi is what is used in production. Colors can be added, typically red or black. Black comes from adding acetic iron oxide or carbon (in the form of soot) during the refining stage, and red comes from shiso oil, cinnabar, or iron III oxide (rust)
A very important step that gives lacquer its durability is fixing hemp cloth to the kijikatame treated wooden base with a mixture called noriurushi. Noriurushi is a combination of rice flour and urushi. You can watch a video of its production here.
Once this layer of noriurushi is set, many layers of refined urushi combined with diatomaceous earth are applied. This process is called ‘nino kise hon kataji’ The overall thickness and any unevenness that develops with the additional coats can be fixed by sanding with a wetstone or charcoal between layer applications. This process carried out expertly will determine the overall quality and feeling of the final product. It is this process that Wajima production places a particular emphasis on.
Wajima has a particular kind of sand available locally, called diatomaceous earth – fossilized algae. This earth is baked and pulverized, and then mixed with urushi. This is done because this earth has a matrix-cave like structure to it, which lacquer can find its way into the interior and harden, making a finished layer much stronger.
Time must be given for each layer to sufficiently dry before another coating is added, this means that each piece will take several months to create.
The final coating of urushi is done in a special dust free room, with a brush made of human hair. The goal is to create a final coating as evenly as possible while being devoid of brush marks,
It could be said that this is just the middle of the lacquerwares process, as now it will be given to the painter to bring to life.
Wajima:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0rK3HkS7FI
https://youtu.be/c1cuiQb5WZU?t=487
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmJdxLe36oU
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