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The Future of Japanese Tradition

LACQUERWARE LACQUERWARE

According to the 2016 census by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, the number of employees in traditional craft industries continues to decrease as it has done for a long time. But when we look at the age structure, the population of employees in between their 20s and 40s is slightly increasing, while the numbers of workers over 50 years old are decreasing. In other words, the younger generation seems to be slowly growing. Also, the total production value of Traditional Crafts designated by the Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry seemed to have hit bottom in 2011. The general production value of traditional crafts has also been increasing since 2012 (Source: General Foundation, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries). We still do not clearly know if these trends or shift of values will continue or be short-lived for both manufacturers and consumers.

Under these circumstances, what kind of means are contrived in the genre of lacquer? Lacquer ware is one of the leading Japanese traditional crafts. It was once called “Japan” internationally, and thus literally represented the country of Japan.

The use of lacquer traces back to the Jōmon era. This long history and the sheer amount of cultural reminiscence from various social classes such as court nobles, samurai warriors, and city commoners in each era, along with the variety in each regions are all resources of lacquer as a craft. It will be one of the most important solutions for the survival of lacquer as a craft to pass down these resources and make them sophisticated. A different viewpoint regarding lacquer could be its fundamental function as paint or adhesive. From the beginning and continuing for more than ten thousand years, lacquer was most commonly used as waterproofing, an antibacterial, and for adhering material.

We put the conventional system of valuation. We re-capture lacquer’s multiple functions such as surface enhancement, antibacterial uses, waterproofing, insulation, as well as making objects durable, hard, flexible, adhering, and protecting against dirt. Through contemporary eyes and technology we re-evaluate the application of lacquer to various materials, such as metal, soil, paper, glass, resin, and leather. Could there possibly be new solutions which the traditional techniques and emotional concepts cannot provide? Isn’t the common approach of “Beauty in Utility” too conventional? We should stay away from over pursuing functions and feelings to a level beyond our reality. Instead, we should remain in our daily life. I feel meaningful results can be found at a regular body temperature, too.

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Lacquer+Material=Funcrion | 
Makoto Koizumi

Lacquer is a “functional material” which has been used as paint and adhesive. Lacquerware can usually be imagined as a bowl, a carved wooden body painted with lacquer. In former times the lacquer paint covered various materials such as paper, bamboo and cloth for effective function. In this exhibition we re-examine the fundamental relationship “Lacquer + Material”. In order to display the diversity of lacquer, the exhibits include local “bowls” which reflect regional character and Negoro-ware in which aged deterioration is considered as a positive aesthetic effect.

Visualization of Weathered Beauty

One of the pinnacles of Japanese lacquer tradition is luxurious, intricate makie. Negoro has positioned itself as a complete opposite of makie. In the simple, concise painting method of negoro, red lacquer is applied on a black-lacquered base. Negoro lacquerware has its origins in the tableware used by the monks at the Negoroji temple, which was prosperous in the Kamakura to Muromachi periods. The foundation of the design line is all based on daily-use items, such as tables, trays, plates, and bowls. Through long usage, the red lacquer wears down to the point at which the black under-surface is revealed. The weathered look has been metaphorically translated to the beauty of things in decay. In other words, it is not through the beauty of formation, but rather through the attractive lure of regression that the beauty of negoro has been admired. The visualization of wabi has been established in the tea-ceremony room and its garden and through raku tea bowls. Here we add negoro as one of the items that visualize wabi.

  • Negoro lacquerware Three pairs of trays | Muromachi period

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  • Negoro lacquerware Square tray | Muromachi period

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  • Negoro lacquerware Broad-shouldered liquor bottle | Muromachi period

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Local Lacquered Bowls at a Glance

From north to south there are so many local lacquerware traditions in Japan. From place to place the methods are so different in shaping wooden bases, painting, and establishing colours. Nevertheless, they all have characteristic figures which have become sophisticated through actual usage. In order to provide an overview of the local identities of these producing centres, we have assembled “bowls” from different regions. The locations include, starting from the north: Tsugaru of Aomori, Kawatsura of Akita, Jōbōji of Iwate, Aizu of Fukushima, Kiso of Nagano, Wajima and Tamanaka of Ishikawa, Echizen of Fukui, Negoro of Wakayama, and Kagawa of Kagawa.

Of course lacquer has been used in various craftworks, but if you see it from the viewpoint of “soup bowls”, which are so close to our daily life, we can feel the immediate sense of the vast possibilities of lacquer.

Lacquer + Material = Funcrion

When we consider lacquerware, we think of high-end craftworks which are beautiful, yet too fragile. However, lacquer has been applied to various kinds of material to demonstrate effective functions. In this exhibition, we first put the aesthetics aside. We try out some experiments from the viewpoint of function in order to recapture the essence of lacquer.

Pieces of cloth can be soaked in lacquer and applied to a wooden surface to improve its touch. Lacquer can add waterproof, anti-bacterial, anti-fouling, and insulating functions to materials. In kintsugi the lacquer displays its high ability to adhere one thing to another. In our exhibition, The Future of Japanese Tradition, we examine the application of lacquer to various materials, such as metal, wood, paper, glass, resin, leather, and soil. This experimental part is an attempt to deepen our understanding of lacquer and pursue its possibilities. Supervised by Makoto Koizumi.