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==Style & Techniques==
==Style & Techniques==
Lacquer sap taken from the tree is initially a white, milky color, and grows brown and then black as it is exposed to the air. Sometimes vermillion pigment is mixed with the lacquer to produce a red color. The lacquer is then placed under sunlight or artificial UV light to turn the blackening lacquer transparent, allowing the red color to show through; though the production of red lacquerwares is not unique to Ryûkyû, the strong sub-tropical sunshine there, combined with warm temperatures and high humidity are often cited as key factor making the Ryûkyûs particularly ideal for lacquerware production.<ref>"Shurijô Seiden ha sekai saidaikyû no urushi no ki. Shurijô no shûfuku, fukugen ga dekiru shokunin o sodatete moraitai"「首里城正殿は世界最大級の漆の器。首里城の修復、復元ができる職人を育ててもらいたい。」、Fee nu kaji 南ぬ風 9 (2008/10-12), 4.</ref>
Traditional methods of decorating lacquerwares include ''[[raden]]'' (mother-of-pearl inlay), an engraved gold technique unique to Ryûkyû called ''chinkin''<!--沈金-->, gold leaf (''hakue''<!--箔絵-->), painting in gold (''kindeie'')<!--金泥絵-->, colored lacquers (''iro-urushie''), and lead-based pigments (''mitsudae''<!--密陀絵-->).
''Hakue'' involved simply placing pieces of gold leaf atop lacquered surface, while ''chinkin'' techniques (lit. "submerged/sunken gold") involved carving into the lacquered surface, and then filling in the space with gold leaf or gold powder. Chinese techniques of lacquer carving never took off in Ryûkyû, but instead, techniques of building up designs in relief using a lacquer putty, called ''[[tsuikin]]''<!--堆錦-->, became a distinctive element of Ryukuyan lacquerwares. This technique is often said to have first been developed in [[1715]] by [[Higa Josho|Higa chikudun peechin Jôshô]]<!--比嘉乗昌-->, based on Chinese techniques.<ref name=miyagi116/>. However, scholar [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1933-2005)|Tokugawa Yoshinobu]]<ref>Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1933-2005) of the Owari Tokugawa line; not to be confused with the last shogun, [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] (d. 1913), of the Mito Tokugawa line.</ref> indicates that the technique was already employed in Ryûkyû prior to that time.<ref>Tokugawa Yoshinobu, viii-ix.</ref>
''Hakue'' involved simply placing pieces of gold leaf atop lacquered surface, while ''chinkin'' techniques (lit. "submerged/sunken gold") involved carving into the lacquered surface, and then filling in the space with gold leaf or gold powder. Chinese techniques of lacquer carving never took off in Ryûkyû, but instead, techniques of building up designs in relief using a lacquer putty, called ''[[tsuikin]]''<!--堆錦-->, became a distinctive element of Ryukuyan lacquerwares. This technique is often said to have first been developed in [[1715]] by [[Higa Josho|Higa chikudun peechin Jôshô]]<!--比嘉乗昌-->, based on Chinese techniques.<ref name=miyagi116/>. However, scholar [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1933-2005)|Tokugawa Yoshinobu]]<ref>Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1933-2005) of the Owari Tokugawa line; not to be confused with the last shogun, [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] (d. 1913), of the Mito Tokugawa line.</ref> indicates that the technique was already employed in Ryûkyû prior to that time.<ref>Tokugawa Yoshinobu, viii-ix.</ref>
