ground appearing like the skin of this Japanese pear. Similarly, makie means sown or sprinkled picture, hira means flat, and taka means raised. Hiramakie therefore means "flat sown picture" or a flat lacquer design done by means of sprinkling colored and metallic powders. Takamakie is a similar technique in which the sown design is in raised relief. Me means aspect or eye and ishi means stone. Ishime is both a lacquer and a metal technique in which the ground is coarse-textured like a stone. Similarly, mokume means "wood eye" the appearance simulating the veins and knots of wood. Nuri means coating. Zonsei-nuri is a variety of carved lacquer whose coating is named after the lacquerer Zonsei. Wakasa-nuri is named after the province of Wakasa. Bori means carving or chiseling. Chinkin-bori literally means sunken gold carving.
Such classification, however, overlaps considerably and is therefore much too confusing. For practical purposes classification may be organized as follows: 1) background techniques, 2) makie (sown picture), 3) colored lacquer techniques, 4) lacquer painting, 5) carved lacquer, 6) imbedded lacquer, 7) encrusted lacquer, 8) lacquer imitating or enhancing natural and other materials, and 9) transparent lacquer.
It would be far too confusing to discuss all of the innumerable rare and relatively unimportant lacquer techniques, many of which have already been lost to posterity. From a practical point of view, therefore, only those techniques which are of popular or historical significance will be noted in any detail.
Background Techniques
The background may consist simply of a wooden base with the lacquer design applied directly, or in combination with various encrustations as practiced by the Ritsuo school. Ornamental woods or cherry bark were often so employed. Or the natural grain of the wood might be brought out by covering it with a type of transparent lacquer, often supplemented with colored lacquer designs. Special background techniques were also practiced, such as having the lacquer appear like metal, wood, or pottery. Such techniques are described separately later on in this chapter. Most commonly, the background consisted of a black, gold, or red lacquer. Occasionally other shades were used, including browns as employed by Shunsho and Zeshin. Light browns, including tan, are of relatively recent innovation. Quite often the black lacquer was enhanced with various types of metallic dusts, filings, or pieces of cut metal variously applied as to amount, type, and distribution according to specific techniques, such as nashiji, hirame, and kirigane. These techniques are described below.
NASHIJI (PEAR GROUND OR AVENTURINE)
The already prepared lacquer base (honji) is used, and upon it the nashiji flakes are dusted after a layer of ro-se-urushi has been applied. Subsequent drying, polishing, and relacquering are repeated. The final three lacquer coats are of Yoshino-urushi, a crude lacquer from Yoshino used for final coatings. The final effect is that of numerous flecks of gold buried at different depths in the transparent yellowish-brown lacquer. This stippled gold Venetian-glass effect is similar to that of the European aventurine lacquer. The range of color from gold to red or brown-red depends upon the depth of the individual gold flecks in the lacquer. Good quality is of even density and appears as if suspended in ice. In general, nashiji, especially the common variety, is used for the insides and bottoms of lacquer boxes without any superimposed designs (Fig. 140). In inro it is also used on the insides and risers of the cases. Gyobu nashiji is also used for inside decoration on inro. On the other hand, mura nashiji is used either as a background effect for the outside pictorial scene or by itself on the inside of lacquered boxes. Varieties of nashiji are also done with black or colored lacquer. The following are the numerous types of nashiji:
1) mura nashiji. The metallic powder forms irregular, more or less dense masses in cloudlike (mura) effects. Also known as uneven nashiji. There are several variations, including a similar irregular patchy effect called kasumi nashiji. Mura nashiji is more artistically effective when dispersed over larger surface areas but is also used in miniature lacquer (Frontispiece, Fig. 13).
2) kanoko nashiji. The metallic powder is dispersed in spots resembling the reddish spots on the back of a young deer (kanoko).
3) yasuriko nashiji. The metallic grains are quite large and very dense (yasuri=file, yasuriko=filings) and rolled fairly flat. When these heavy filings are strewn very sparingly, it is called usu-yasuriko nashiji (usu=thin, not densely spaced); If the background of yasuriko nashiji is gold (kinji) lacquer, it is also called ikakeji (poured-on ground).
4) gyobu nashiji. Invented by Gyobu Taro of Edo in the beginning of the 18th century. Consists of large irregular flakes of gold placed alongside of one another irregularly, forming a beautiful mosaic effect of gold. The technique was especially excellent on the inner surfaces of the inro made by the Kajikawa family (Fig. 14).
5) kin fundame (kin-fun, kin-pun). Very fine gold powder in black lacquer. Tundame (powder ground) consists of fine gold or silver powdered onto the ground or mixed with the lacquer and applied directly with the brush and worked to a soft, dull surface finish. Used as a ground for pictorial designs and also as a plain ground on insides of lacquered articles (Figs. 142, 223).
6) nashiji ishime. See page 130.
7) e-nashiji (picture nashiji). In this case the nashiji is used for the design rather than just for the background. Originated in the Momoyama period (Fig. 33).
8) heijin (even dust). Background of rough sprinkling of gold dust. Originated in the Heian period.
9) maki-bokashi (graduated sprinklings). Spreading metal powder more thinly in some places than in others. Originated in the Heian period.
10) ikakeji. Similar to the heijin method, but the gold powder is put on more densely. Originated in the Heian period.
11) chiriji. A variety of lacquer in which the background of a clear brown or black lacquer is powdered with fine gold or silver particles and enriched by scattering a few metallic particles. It is therefore a combination of nashiji and oki-hiram (Fig. 55).
12) tsuya-keshi (sheen extinguished). Dull finish, mostly in black, in which the polished lacquer is now purposely dulled by pounding with a hard brush filled with deerhorn powder. Other techniques of dull ground are fundame (powder ground), ishime-nuri, and sabiji (rust ground; Fig. 135). A slightly roughened lacquer surface is known as kodame chiriji. One beautiful, subtle style consists of delicate designs of dull black on a highly polished black ground. In general, dull grounds vary in degree of roughness from a smooth, flat mat to a coarse texture similar to the bark of a tree. Similarly, the dull lacquer may be in flat, medium, or high relief. It is most often done in black but also in brown tones and as gold or silver fundame. Zeshin's works quite often reveal grounds and also ornamental touches of such coarse texture, the latter usually in low relief. He was also fond of a flat, dull olive-gray ground (Figs. 11, 25).
HIRAME (FLAT EYE)
The two following techniques fall tinder this heading:
1) hirame or hirame nashiji. A lacquer technique employing the various irregular flat pieces of hirame as with nashiji. The particles are dusted into the wet lacquer surface and covered with transparent lacquer. Brilliant little metallic surface points are brought out by polishing. The particles of gold are larger than those used in nashiji. In general, this technique, in contrast to nashiji, is seen more frequently in the ground of older pieces (Fig. 51). Nashiji was more popular during the 19th century, at which time it was often of inferior quality.
2) oki-hirame. Relatively large, irregular, flat metallic (invariably gold) pieces are encrusted quite regularly next to one another, giving a rich gold mosaic pattern. This technique was used both on miniature and on larger pieces to produce a strong background effect for a simple central design (Figs. 45, 48, 101, 120, 139, 220). Rarely, the same technique is found using aogai (Fig. 15).
KANA-GAI (METALLIC FOIL)
In
