Japan Heritage story
The Oku-Nanbu lacquer story: Japan's home of urushi
“奥南部”漆物語
Along the Appi River in northern Iwate, lacquer tappers, wood-turners and painters have worked side by side for centuries. Joboji lacquer, prized for its clarity and strength, now makes up about three quarters of Japan's home-grown lacquer and is used to restore national treasures like Kinkakuji.
Key facts
- Theme
- Forests and timber, Textiles and dyes
- Era
- Edo, Meiji
- Region
- Tohoku
- Official name in Japanese
- “奥南部”漆物語
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～安比川流域に受け継がれる伝統技術～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 岩手県（二戸市，八幡平市）
The story
Here one river valley does everything: tappers collect sap from lacquer trees around Joboji, wood-turners shape bowls upstream, and painters coat them with lacquer. Local lacquerware is said to begin at Tendaiji, a temple founded in the Nara period, whose monks' simple bowls became the plain, practical style of Joboji-nuri. The Morioka domain protected the lacquer trees, warning that officials who let them die would be punished.
After the war, cheap plastics and imported lacquer nearly ended the trade, but from 1975 locals worked to revive it. Each season, from June to November, a tapper works about 200 trees, and one tree gives only about 200 ml, a milk bottle's worth. Joboji lacquer has been used to restore Chusonji's Konjikido, Kinkakuji and Nikko Toshogu, and in 2020 lacquer tapping became part of UNESCO-listed traditional building skills.
What to see
- Tendaiji: the Nara-period temple where Joboji lacquer is said to have begun.Google Maps 天台寺 二戸市 (opens in a new tab)
- Appi-nuri lacquer workshop: a studio in Hachimantai run by trainees from across Japan.Google Maps 安比塗漆器工房 (opens in a new tab)
- Appi Kogen beech forest: the beech woods that supplied wood for bowls.Google Maps 安比高原 (opens in a new tab)
Plan your trip with the Iwate prefecture guide and see more temples and shrines.
Good to know
- Visit between June and November to see lacquer tappers at work.
- Look for plain Joboji-nuri bowls, made in the simple, practical style of the temple monks.
- Look for a set of nesting bowls called Oyama goki, an old temple style.
Questions travellers ask
Why is Joboji lacquer special?
It is valued for its clarity, adhesion and hardness, is used to restore national treasures, and makes up about 75% of Japan's domestic lacquer.
How much lacquer comes from one tree?
About 200 ml on average, roughly one milk bottle, collected over a season.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.