DISCOVER KAWATSURA LACQUERWARE
Kawatsura is one of the few places left in Japan where this complex, centuries old traditional Japanese craft remains. To create the lacquerware, skilled artisans combine woodcraft with urushiol to produce beautiful, glossy pieces that are also highly resilient.
By the time any piece of lacquerware leaves the northern Japanese village of Kawatsura, it has passed through the hands of numerous master artisans, every one of which is a specialist at each stage of the process. Incredibly, the production of a single plate, bowl, box or cup takes between six months and a year to complete.
It means that Kawatsura’s lacquerware is unrivalled in its beauty, craft and longevity. Thanks to the inherent properties of urushiol – a natural resin derived from tree sap that gives the lacquerware its defining high gloss finish – every piece is also antibacterial, antiseptic, heat resistance, insulated and oil resistant.
KAWATSURA LACQUERWARE
AT PANTECHNICON
The process starts with a Kijishi, who shapes virgin Japanese horse chestnut or beech using a traditional lathe. If joining is required, the work is started by, or handed over to a Sashimonoshi. The layering of urushiol is then completed by a Nurishi. For the pieces that include gold leaf patterning, two separate artisans complete the process: Makieshi decorate with gold dust and Chinkinshi handle gold leafing.
Kawatsura is one of the few places in Japan where lacquerwear is still produced in this way. And it’s little surprise why: lacquerwear is said to have been made in the workshops of the village since the 12th century, with expertise handed down through families, generation after generation. Today, around two hundred artisan households create lacquerware as part of the Kawatsura cooperative.
A piece of Kawatsura lacquerware is not just a beautiful, functional product: it’s also a piece of history that’s part of this extraordinary community nestled in the foothills of the Ou mountains.