for this purpose is called suki-urushi. Very occasionally special color techniques are used, such as mixing lacquer with lead oxide and oil (see mitsuda-e, page 123). The following is a partial list of colored lacquers:
1) black lacquer (ro-urushi). Prepared by mixing lacquer with a black solution obtained by boiling iron filings with vinegar. Lampblack is used in more modern works instead of iron; it is made from pine wood and was not used before the early 18th century. The iron type tends to fade and become brown with age, appearing like tortoise shell.
2) vermilion lacquer (shu-urushi). Made from ki-urushi or suki-urushi, vermilion, and oil. It is a dull red. For inferior works, red oxide of iron (benigara) is used instead of vermilion.
3) browns. These are obtained by mixing various proportions of reds and blacks.
4) chrome-yellow lacquer (kio=chrome; ki-urushi-ji=yellow lacquer).
5) green lacquer (sei-shitsu or ao-urushi). Made by mixing kio and Prussian blue (bero-ai).
6) purple powder (murasaki-ko). Made from white lead and magenta roseine (to-beni).
7) white lacquer: silicate powder. (See Jogahana, page 123.)
Along with the above basic colors various metallic powders were used by themselves, in combination or with the above pigments to produce different degrees of shading. Gold, silver, and copper powders were most commonly used.
Preparation of the Core
Lacquered objects usually have a core or structure upon which the lacquer is applied. This core usually consists of wood. However, lacquer may be used to decorate innumerable other types of materials which often require specialized preparatory techniques both to make the lacquer adhere to the object and to render the proper decorative effect. The techniques of lacquering on such materials as metal, ivory, tortoise shell, porcelain, etc., will therefore be described separately. Lacquer was occasionally used for painting and even as decoration on fabrics. In most cases however, the techniques of applying the lacquer, building it up to the desired thickness, and the final application of the pictorial and decorative effects remain the same irrespective of the underlying core.
The wooden core is called kiji and is prepared by a specialist, the joiner. The type and thickness of the wood depends upon the object to be manufactured, which might be anything from a large piece of furniture or an entire temple building to a tiny incense box. Hinoki (Japanese cypress) is best suited for making boxes, including inro, as it does not warp or split. On the other hand hinoki was not usually used for such objects as netsuke because it is soft and tends to wear down. Most sword sheaths were made from honoki (Magnolia hypoleuca), a light wood; carved figures from himekomatsu (a species of pine), which does not split; cups and bowls from sakura (cherry), which is suitable for lathing; and other woods such as keyaki (zelkova) for their ornamental grain. Ornamental woods were either left natural or covered with transparent lacquers to bring out their beautiful color or grain (see "Transparent Lacquer," page 133). Occasionally only parts of such woods were lacquered or they were used for encrustations as practiced by Ritsuo. The wood of the camphor laurel is not suitable for lacquering because its camphor content acts on the lacquer. Woods to be lacquered were very well seasoned, some inro cores being hung up to dry for as long as three years before being lacquered.
The lacquered boxes (including inro) invariably have almost airtight snugly fitting parts, such as a lid or fitted tiers, or boxes enclosed within a parent box. The wooden core was so carefully prepared as to account for the thickness of the subsequent lacquer to be applied and still permit accurate coadaptation of the component parts of the object. And even then, after centuries of use and exposure to varying climates and temperatures, the boxes remain uncracked, unwarped, and perfectly fitting. Such was the extreme care and accuracy involved in the preparation of the wooden core.
The prepared wooden core was then primed and covered with numerous layers of lacquer by a special class of lacquerers called the nurimono-shi or nuri-ya, and finally the decorative and pictorial work was done by the more highly esteemed lacquer painters, or makie-shi. There was even further specialization of lacquerers, such as mother-of-pearl inlayers (aogai-shi) and even sword-sheath lacquerers (saya-shi). Mother-of-pearl itself was processed and prepared by special craftsmen. Frequently the design itself was done by a noted painter or was copied from a famous painting. Metal artists often combined their talents with those of the lacquerer and supplemented the work with metal encrustations. Metal inro were made by metal artists, and at other times lacquer was applied to a metallic base by the lacquer artist. The combining of talents among specialized Japanese artisans was not uncommon. Many famous painters, such as Korin and Zeshin, were also adept with the handicrafts. The handicrafts were not looked down upon as in China but were even practiced among the patrons of the arts along with painting, poetry, and calligraphy.
Honji: Priming the Core
Having outlined the process in the preparation of the wooden core and the production and use of the various basic lacquers, we are now in a position to understand how the various layers of lacquer are specifically applied to the basic wood. "Real basis" (honji) is the term used to denote the best black lacquer on wood. It should be again noted that the "basis" is done by the nurimono-shi and is merely preparatory for the lacquer painter, who then takes over to ornament the prepared lacquer base. The same "basis" is used on a lacquer foundation for colored or gold lacquer work. Similarly the same lacquer foundation is used even in raised lacquer work, although less commonly raised lacquer (takamakie) may be done on a natural wood base. In general after the lacquer base is applied the design is brought out by repeated dustings of metallic and colored powders associated with repeated applications of lacquer, drying, and polishing. In other cases the design is accomplished by superimposing layers of colored lacquer. Lastly the design may be brought out by inlaying or deeply encrusting various precarved designs made of gold, silver, mother-of-pearl, ivory, pottery, etc.
The steps used in honji consists roughly of the following. The wood is primed by adding a layer of seshime-urushi and then put in the damp press. Then the channels and joints are covered by means of a spatula with a mixture of seshime-urushi, chopped hemp, and rice starch, and the piece is again placed in the press. This layer is now rubbed down, and a layer of sabi is applied. After more time in the press the piece is rubbed down again. Then it is covered with hempen cloth (nuno) to prevent the wood from cracking and the joints from springing. Following this, several layers of mixtures of lacquer and clay are applied, followed by drying in the damp press each time and polishing each time after the drying process. The true lacquer stages now occur, and the lacquers are applied with a brush of human hair.
First the middle-coat lacquer is applied and then multiple layers of ro-urushi (black lacquer), followed by more and more careful polishing with powdered charcoal. The object is finally polished with a mixture of burnt Inari clay reduced to impalpable fine powder, and calcined deerhorn (tsuno-ko) is applied with cotton cloth touched with oil. The final coats are of seshime-urushi followed by drying and polishing with powdered deer's-horn ashes applied with the finger.
Up to sixty separate steps may be used in applying the basic lacquer layers on the wooden core. The minimal time used for just the damp press is twenty-two days, and sometimes thorough drying of one lacquer layer may take up to one month. A well-prepared lacquer base prevents warping, seals in the wooden resin, and does not allow the slight undulations or irregularities of the wood to show through.
Materials and Techniques of Ornamentation
After the honji is completed the lacquer painter commences his work. This consists essentially in transferring a prepared design over the prepared lacquer base and then filling it in according to the method he has chosen. At this point it should be stressed that to the lacquer artist the background is just as essential as the design itself. While in many cases the design is set off on a completely plain black or other
