Lit. "lacquer coating." Lacquerware is also called shikki 漆器 (lacquerware) or nurimono 塗物 (coated things). Japanese lacquer is a highly toxic non-resinous sap from the Rhus verniciflua tree (the same genus as poison ivy and poison oak) which hardens rather than dries. The poisonous aspect of the medium generally limits its use to special artisans. Lacquer construction has three stages: kiji 木地, forming the base, body, or core of wood or sometimes basketry, leather and paper; application of lacquer coatings to seal and protect the object; and decoration of the surface.
Application of urushi differs regionally, but there are three basic types of lacquer coats: undercoats shitaji 下地, middle coats naka-nuri 中塗, and final coats uwa-nuri 上塗. Some styles omit the naka-nuri, while the final coat always uses the most highly refined lacquer because this is the surface which is decorated. In gold decoration *maki-e 蒔絵, the final coat is a high-gloss, transparent lacquer rō-iro 蝋色. In Japan, red-and-black-lacquered earthenware pots date from ca. 4500 BCE. After 1599, systems for cultivating lacquer trees and improving lacquering techniques were developed. In the 18th century, colored lacquers and maki-e became widespread.
There are several basic lacquer techniques, but decorative techniques are numerous. Ikkanbari 一閑張, also called harinuki 張貫, is a paper-based lacquer used for tea wares. Layers of lacquer-glued paper are applied to the interior of a mold and coated with lacquer when removed from the mold. Hirai Ikkan 飛来一閑 (1578-1657), a naturalized Chinese, reportedly invented the technique in the Kan'ei 寛永 era (1624-44) when he became lacquer master to Sen Sōtan 千宗旦 (1578-1658). Iro-urushi 色漆 is a multi-colored lacquer in which *ganryō 顔料 (pigments) are mixed into suki-urushi 透漆 (clear lacquer). Traditionally only five natural pigments (red, black, yellow, green, and brown) were used, but since the Meiji period, white and neutral tints were made chemically. Shunkei-nuri 春慶塗 is a technique of applying transparent urushi over wood grain so the natural wood pattern shows through. Popular in the 17th century, it was reportedly invented by a 14th-century lacquer master named Shunkei 春慶.
A variety of lacquer types evolved in regional production centers. Negoro-nuri 根来塗 was made at Negoroji 根来寺 in Wakayama Prefecture. The red surface wears to reveal the underlying black; this effect was later deliberately imitated. Tsugaru-nuri 津軽塗 is made in Tsugaru 津軽, Aomori Prefecture. Multiple layers of colored lacquer (usually green, red, yellow, and brown) produce a spotted-marbled effect. The technique reportedly was used first in 1685 by Ikeda Gentarō 池田源太郎, the son of lacquer master Ikeda Genbei 池田源兵衛. Aizu-nuri 会津塗 has been made in the Aizu 会津 area of Fukushima Prefecture from the late 16th century, with peak output in 1878. There are two methods of priming. In the shibushitaji 渋下地 process, lamp black is mixed with persimmon tannin and applied as a primer then burnished when dry; or persimmon tannin is applied alone, and burnished, before lacquer is applied. In the sabishitaji 錆下地 technique, a clay-like primer is applied and burnished when hard. A lacquer undercoat follows the sabi 錆 and, after burnishing, intermediate and final coats are applied. The Aizu region also developed chinkin 沈金, incising a design into the lacquer surface, then applying a thin layer of lacquer and applying gold dust or gold foil to the tacky lacquer. Jōhana-nuri 城端塗, also called jōhana maki-e 城端蒔絵 (jigoemon-nuri 治五右衛門塗), was developed in Jōhana 城端 in Toyama Prefecture by Hata Jigoemon 畑治五右衛門 and Hata Tokuzaemon 畑徳左衛門 in the early 17th century. It uses techniques of *mitsuda-e 密陀絵 and keifun maki-e 軽粉蒔絵 and has a white color. In ｗakasa-nuri 若狭塗, made since ca. 1660 at Wakasa 若狭 in Fukui Prefecture, layers of different colored lacquers are applied to a ground roughened by the addition of pieces of egg shell or rice chaff. Thin gold or silver foil is pressed into the indentations, and a coating of transparent lacquer is applied then polished to make a smooth surface. Kuroe-nuri 黒江塗, also called kainan shikki 海南漆器, is made in Kuroe 黒江, Kainan 海南 City, Wakayama Prefecture. In 1826, professional lacquer craftsmen were invited to Osaka; in the Ansei 安政 era (1854-60) maki-e was introduced; in 1879 the chinkinbori 沈金彫 (lacquerware inlaid with gold) technique was introduced by Kyoto craftsmen.