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Maki-e is one of the most common
techniques for adding ornamental designs to lacquered surfaces. Pictures
are drawn with lacquer on the surface of a piece, and, before it dries,
gold or silver powder is sprinkled over the pictures. (In some cases, pictures
are drawn only with colored lacquer.) The most basic techniques for adding
these designs are "hira-maki-e," "togidashi-maki-e,"
and "taka-maki-e." In hira-maki-e, pictures are drawn with colored
lacquer and then the powder is applied to this. After drying, lacquer is
applied to the picture area and then this area alone is carefully polished.
In togidashi-maki-e, the powder is applied to the pictures, and after the
pictures are dry, lacquer is applied to the surface of the whole piece,
which is then polished. When the pictures are raised from the surface of
a bowl and maki-e techniques are applied to these areas, it is known as
"taka-maki-e."
Maki-e techniques in the Wajima area are thought to have been started by
a Maki-e artist named Yasukichi in Aizu in the Bunsei period (1818-1830),
who came to Wajima and spread these techniques. The techniques were supposedly
further developed by Hamasaki Sokichi at the end of the Edo period. |
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Fummaki (Scattering Powder) |
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Chinkin is an ornamental technique
that has been distinctly developed in Wajima Lacquerware. Pictures are
carved on a bowl, and lacquer is applied to these carvings. Then gold leaf
or dust is placed on these areas and pressed firmly into the grooves. In
some cases other types of colored material is placed in the grooves, although
the carving may simply be left as it is, without adding colors.
The carving technique of Chinkin is considered to have been developed in
the Kyoho period (1716-1736) by a carpenter called Tachi Gorobei. He was
inspired by a surplice box that he saw at the Sojiji Temple in Monzen,
Noto, and as a result carved some pictures on lacquerware pieces using
a carpenter's chisel. During the Meiwa period (1764-1772), a man named
Tachi Junsuke is said to have prepared the foundation of present-day Wajima
Chinkin by experimenting with his own, original ideas. In particular, Chinkin
rose in fame through a pointillistic technique, by which points of different
sizes and depth are carved into a piece in a controlled way using a chisel.
Much later, the plastic impression of pictures became possible and was
used to produce different shades of color. The credit for this special
technique belongs to the artist Mae Taiho, who passed away in 1977. |
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Hakuoki |
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