“Living” Wajima Lacquerware Project

Overview:

Wajima Nuri Studio Raku, a small family-run lacquerware studio from Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture is interested in launching a crowdfunding project, but they want feedback from you first.

Here is what makes their work special:

・Handmade by Japanese traditional Wajima lacquer artisans

・Produced using original, patented techniques unique to this studio

・Very durable and resistant even to dry overseas climates

・Made with 100% organic materials

・Produced by craftsmen who also do work restoring important cultural properties

Raku is known for their lacquerware which resembles tree bark and gradually changes from brown to green as years pass, almost as if moss were growing on it.

Would you be interested in supporting their work on Kickstarter? If so, what type of lacquerware product would you like to see them make? Leave a comment and we’ll make sure that you get a special bonus if the project makes it to Kickstarter.

Read more about how Wajima Lacquerware is made below

How it’s Made

The lacquerware from Wajima Nuri Studio Raku is finished using the cloth-dressed hon-kataji technique pioneered by Wajima lacquer craftsmen. It is made by reinforcing the areas of the wooden base that receive the most wear and tear by stretching linen cloth soaked with lacquer, covered with a base coat of Wajimaji powder and a top coat of natural lacquer. The use of this reinforcing technique makes Wajima Lacquerware extremely durable, and led to its widespread popularity throughout Japan after it was shipped around the country by Kitamaebune along the Japan Sea route starting from the Edo period.

Thank you!

We hope you will experience the advanced lacquer techniques of our Wajima Lacquerware workshop, which also undertakes the restoration of Japan's national treasures, and the Japanese lacquer culture that has continued since the Jomon period.