Wajima Nuri

Strength you cannot see

You cannot tell from a finished piece, but Wajima Nuri has cloth glued over its weak points and many coats of lacquer built up beneath the surface. On top come rich decorations in chinkin, gold set into carved lines, and maki-e, sprinkled gold pictures. A worn piece can be repaired and used again like new. It is made in Wajima in Ishikawa as tableware, decorative pieces and furniture.

Cloth and earth

• A base of good wood such as hiba, zelkova, katsura or magnolia is made.
• Cloth is glued with lacquer over the parts most likely to break.
• A base of jinoko powder mixed with lacquer is applied two or three times, and raw lacquer is added on edges that chip easily.
• Middle and top coats follow, then chinkin or maki-e decoration.

From farmhouses to fine inns

The oldest known Wajima-nuri is a vermilion lacquered door from the Muromachi period, but excavations have found lacquerware and tools from the Kamakura period, showing the craft is older still. In the Edo period, Wajima-nuri was used by farm and merchant families across Japan for its strength. From the Meiji period it was used in restaurants and inns, and chinkin and maki-e grew more lavish.