Haruyoshi Tsukada / Master of Gallery Mukyo

Lacquerware descending from ancient China and the Southeast Asia to Japan

Lacquerware in my knowledge had been produced in China since far back before Christ. It then spread to the Southeast Asia and Korea before arriving here and has been widely used since olden times in Japan. It was during the Jomon period, or even earlier than that. Such study is advancing so fast today, and we will see lots more findings in future.

Japanese lacquer is featured by its characteristics to augment a great deal of stoutness of materials. Wooden materials are easy to get rotten by nature and not resistant to water, however, when coated with lacquer, they can sustain stoutness while keeping respiration.

There is hardly found any other culture which takes the benefit of lacquer to make beautifully formed materials. Though there are available artistic works in the Southeast Asia, China and Korea, the level of perfection in those produced in Japan is by far higher. In Japan, we have valuable furniture pieces finished with lacquer housed in Shosoin, and a number of Buddha statues were made in Tempyou period with the Mokushin-Kanshitsu technique, a core part made of dried wood and then varnished with lacquer on its surface.

It is also a feature of Japanese lacquerware that it usefully serves purposes as tableware. It is often said the critical skillfulness for a chef is embraced in preparation of soup and food served in bowls, which tells how important bowls are. They say, when bowl preparations are well done, a tea ceremony or Kaiseki, Japanese style haute cuisine, is accepted in satisfaction, and so the host will feel comfortably at ease to hear praising words, “This bowl preparation is so delicious.” In Japanese cooking, lacquer bowls play such a significant role that way. Lacquer is used not only in these, but in various pieces of furniture. From large pieces like shelves to small such as Kogo (scent bottles) or Netsuke (miniature sculptures), its application is so diversified, indeed. Lacquer has been part of living for Japanese in this manner from olden times, adding to it a taste of brilliancy. Some people may think lacquer is too expensive and luxurious, but actually it is not, bearing in mind that it will last tens of years under careful use. I note pleasingly these days young generations have become fond of using it in their daily life.

Rosanjin and Lacquerware

Known as a famous artist and a gourmet, Rosanjin Kitaoji, regarded lacquer very importantly.

It seems he asked several Kijishi craftsmen in remote mountainous areas situated in Ishikawa prefecture to make lacquerware of his own design. That senior man, Jihei Murase, who is planning to hold his private exhibition at Gallery Mukyo in April, is one of such Kijishi craftsmen who made lacquerware at the request of Rosanjin.

One of lacquerware works of Rosanjin’s original design is a well-known bowl called ‘Jitsugetsu-Wan’ (meaning Sun-Moon bowl), which has rounded patterns in gold and silver. He might perhaps been inspired by something like a Nichigetu (Sun-Moon) folding screen in those days preceding to Momoyama period, and the motif of the design is so refined. Later, many produced works resembling that Jitsugetsu bowl, but none excelled his performance. No one, miraculously. It would have been really the best to take soup cooked by Rosanjin in that Jitsugetsu bowl.

It was Rosanjin’s belief that even most delicious food would not be enough without a satisfactory container, and he remarked “a container was clothing to food.” As a matter of fact, Rosanjin started to make dishware for himself for use in the restaurant he was running. Even the best flavor of soup will be spoilt if a bowl does not give a mild touch to lips. Generally there is direct contact of a mouth with dishware, and so its shape is important to fit a mouth.

No other cooking uses so many different kinds of dishware as the Japanese. Any material such as ceramic, lacquer, glass and metal is used for dishware. And, they are selected for a particular season and a kind of food in matching combinations. We see a sense of Japanese aesthetic in it. Furthermore, it is not only the combination of cooking and dishware, but the space where to serve them is equally important. It would be perfect only when a hanging scroll above the floor, or flowers arranged there match food, and everything in the space comes in harmony. The crystallization of all these of the Japanese culture and aesthetic is the tea ceremony.

Contemporary lacquer craftsmen

Being a grandson of a Kijishi craftsman who experienced working with Rosanjin, Jihei Murase has enormous understandings about the tea ceremony and actively engaged in making tea equipment. Under the guidance of an expert Seizo Hayashi, his works are getting even more perfect. Among others, tea equipment will be in the center of his private exhibition April 7th through 19th at Gallery Mukyo.

Akito Akagi is another famous lacquer craftsman trying to make the charm of lacquer widely known. He used to work as an editor of a magazine called ‘Katei Gaho’, but was so charmed by lacquer that he later moved to Wajima from Tokyo where he mastered the technique of the traditional art and is making it expressed in a modern fashion as his original style.

The boom of lacquer we see today is attributed to those people. This boom will not be simply a fad, as we will feel its merit more deeply as we bring lacquerware in our daily life, from a bowl to a dish, a tray, and so forth. It is the luxury in routine living above anything else, not luxury in a special celebration, that will foster sensibility of people.