Chronological Table

1397		One door of Juzo Shrine was vermilion lacquered.
1467		Onin Wars broke out.
1524		The rebuilt door of Juzo Shrine was vermilion lacquered.
1531		The rebuilt portable shrine of Juzo Shrine was vermilion lacquered.

1582

Kaga Han Lord Maeda Toshiie came to visit the place where jinoko was produced during his journey in Noto.

1603		Tokugawa Ieyasu took the title of shogun, and the Edo period began.。
1661-1672 Kambun period		Jinoko was invented. The production of solid and durable lacquerware began at this time.
1688-1715 Genroku period		Matsukiya Saheiji supposedly transferred Wajima Lacquerware to other districts.
1716-1735 Kyoho period		A carpenter named Tachi Gorobei carved some pictures on lacquerware pieces using a carpenter's chisel, which marks the beginning of Chinkin techniques.
1718		A lacquerware craftsman called Yosazaemon expanded the region of his marketing activities to Tajimanokuni (now Hyogo Prefecture).
1781-1788 Temmyo period		Ten people, including Matsukiya Saheiji, started a loan system for lacquerware, called Daikokuko. They established standards for the lacquerware production process, controlled lacquerware prices, and concluded agreements concerning marketing regions. This movement developed a new market.
1805		According to one record, there were 82 nushi craftsmen in Kawai-machi, and eleven in Fugeshi-cho.
1816		Lacquer craftsmen agreed on rules to control craftsmen and their apprentices.
1818-1829 Bunsei period		Matsuya Ibei and Konishiya Shogoro traded in the Kyoto/Osaka area and set up a loan system there, which drastically increased the number of customers. A Maki-e artist named Yasukichi in Aizu supposedly came to Wajima and brought certain Maki-e techniques.
1820		Inakiya Sosuke expanded the market to the Nambu Han (now the Tohoku area).
1854		Craftsmen planted 10,000 lacquer seedlings.
1857		Craftsmen initiated a fixed cigarette time (break time).

1869		Hamasaki Sokichi died, the person responsible for the revival of Maki-e techniques.
1872		Nanao Prefecture was abolished. Kaga and Noto became Ishikawa Prefecture.
1873		The lacquerware business fell on hard times.
1887		The lacquerware business started to recover about this time.
1896		Wajima Mayor Katsuyama Shuzo planted 3,000 lacquer seedlings. Lacquerware businessmen became agitated because their source of diatomaceous earth (used to make jinoko) was exhausted. This area had been in use since the Kambun period (1661 - 1673). However, Oka Junsaku found diatomaceous earth of the same quality in Mt. Komine.
1897		A Chinkin craftsman, Funakake Sojiro, invented a unique lacquer inlay technique, and obtained a patent.
1899		The Wajima Lacquerware Craftsman Society was founded.
1907		Wajima City gave the jinoko mining rights to the Wajima Lacquerware Craftsman Society free of charge.

1917		The Wajima Lacquerware Craftsman Society planted Zelkova, Ate, and Japanese Cypress to take precautions against a shortage of wood.
1924		A lacquer craftsman named Funaki Hisauemon designed a nushi-bath which turned the lacquerware automatically.

1927		The Teiten (The Annual Imperial Art Academy Exhibition) initiated a crafts section.
1929		The world financial panic erupted. Mae Taiho and Takezono Jiko both exhibited at the 10th Teiten for the first time.
1930		The sales of Wajima Lacquerware decreased dramatically. Of 480 lacquer craftsmen, 133 were unemployed. Mae Taiho received an honorable mention in the 11th Teiten.
1934		The Wajima Lacquerware Craftsman Society obtained a monopoly on jinoko.
1935		A rail line was completed between Nanao and Wajima.
1937		The Sino-Japanese War began.
1938		The use of gold was restricted, which caused a financial panic in the lacquerware business.
1941		The Pacific War began.
1943		The Wajima Military Sword Company was founded.
1945		The Pacific War ended.
1946		The Japanese Constitution was promulgated.
1947		The Wajima Lacquerware Craftsman Society name was changed to Wajima Urushi Ware Commerce and Industry.
1950		The Korean War broke out. The lacquer monopoly was abolished.
1952		Wajima City Lacquer Research Center was founded.
1955		Mae Taiho was designated as a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Chinkin) (a living national treasure).
1958		A young Japanese man tore down a Chinese national flag in Nagasaki, which in turn stopped the supply of lacquer from China.
1963		Mae Taiho became the first honorary citizen of Wajima City.
1967		The Institute of Wajima Lacquer Arts was founded.
1969		The Institute of Wajima Lacquer Arts became a prefectural organization, and its name was changed to the Ishikawa Prefectural Institute of Wajima Lacquer Arts.
1971		Wajima Urushi Ware Commerce and Industry opened the Wajima Lacquerware Center.
1975		Wajima Lacquerware was designated as a traditional craft.
1977		The Wajima Lacquer Technique Preservation Committee was designated as a national Important Intangible Cultural Property. Wajima Lacquerware utensils and products (3,804 items) were designated as national Important Tangible Cultural Properties.
1982		Wajima Urushi Ware Commerce and Industry opened a lacquer manufacturing center.
1983		Matsuda Gonroku became the 4th honorary citizen of Wajima City.
1984		The Overseas Lacquerware Culture Survey started. The survey covered China, Thailand, Burma, Taiwan, Korean and Bhutan.
1987		The First Lacquerware Cultural Forum was held.
1988		The Second Lacquerware Cultural Forum was held.

1991		Ishikawa Wajima Urushi Museum opened.
1995		The first Japan Lacquer Cultural Conference was held.
1996		Shioda Keishiro was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Lacquer Coating).
1999		Mae Fumio was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Propety (a living national treasure) in Chinkin.

The Oldest Wajima Lacquerware ／ Discovery of Jinoko ／ Development of Wajima Lacquerware ／ Establishment of Chinkin ／ Establishment of Maki-e ／ Wajima Lacquerware in Modern Times

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