Tray, painted in red lacquer
曲輪造紅彩盛器
- Birth Year
- 1906
- Death Year
- 1984
- Date
- 1983
- Technique, Material, Format
- lacquer on wood with hoop- built technique, Hiba arborvitae
- Dimension
- height 5.7 cm, diameter 41.4 cm
- Donor name
- Ms. Akaji Shizu
- Category
- Craft by Japanese Artist
- Inventory Number
- 85-CJ-005
Akaji Yusai is a Living National Treasure for his knowledge of the lacquer technique kyushitsu, or brush-applied lacquer. Making lacquerware involves a series of processes, from selecting the base material, such as wood, metal, or pottery, to shaping, and then applying the lacquer. The base material for this piece is made by the magewa method, by which thin sheets of wood are bent into hoops that are stacked in layers to make the vessel. The technique, which was developed in China more than 2,000 years ago, creates a base material that is less prone to warping than natural wood. In this work, Akaji used cypress from Aomori Prefecture, and then the subsequent layers are painted with black or vermilion lacquer before being combined together.
(HASEGAWA Tamao)