Carrying the wooden base into our KOUBOU (atelier), it’s time to paint lacquer. The scent characteristic of urushi focuses our minds. A commanding atmosphere, a calm time, in such space a craftsman begins to paint wares carefully one by one. At first, to strengthen the base the work named KIGATAME will be done. And then paint with lacquer, wipe it before drying, and dry. These processes will be repeated usually over ten times, sometimes even forty times.
Well, when we express the word “dry”, in the case of urushi, “dry” means that “combines with moisture in the air and harden by their chemical reaction”. So urushi needs humidification to dry. Some kind of urushi needs delicate adjustment of humidity and to be dried slowly for two or three days. The speed of urushi drying differs by seasons and weather. To keep the quality, wares will be put in the room called MURO to dry, where temperature and humidity can be easily controlled.
The work continues further; paint with red lacquer, paint like aged, and so on. Although it depends on the product, the number of process to finish is over sixty and it takes around three months. Thus lacquerwares are manufactured. Please enjoy the taste of Japanese traditional wares.