Changes

These included ''[[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-->).  

These included ''[[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]] 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<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>

Mother-of-pearl inlay techniques, known as ''raden'', employed thin slices of the turban shell (J: ''yakôgai''; ''Lunatica marmorata''),<ref name=toku3/> a sea creature native to Ryukyuan waters, to insert shimmering, rainbow-colored designs into lacquered pieces. ''Raden'' is traditionally said to have first been introduced to Ryûkyû in [[1636]] by [[Zeng Guoji]] (J: Sô Kuniyoshi)<!--曾国吉--> from [[Fujian province|Fujian]], who was then appointed ''kaizuri-shi'' or ''aogai-shi'' ("master of lacquerware") in [[1642]].　Further, the technique for preparing the shells<!--煮貝の法--> is said to have been introduced by [[Omitake Hyobu|Ômitake chikudun peechin Hyôbu]]<!--大見武憑武--> in [[1690]], who had studied such techniques in [[Hangzhou]]. <ref name=miyagi116>Miyagi Eishô 宮城栄昌, ''Ryûkyû shisha no Edo nobori'' 琉球使者の江戸上り, Tokyo: Daiichi Shobô (1982), 115-116.</ref> However, documentary evidence and extant objects show that ''raden'' techniques were known in Ryûkyû by the end of the 14th century, if not earlier. Mother-of-pearl-inlay objects were regularly among tribute goods or gifts given by the Ryukyuan court to the courts of China and Japan from the 1430s onward, and ''raden'' objects as well as the raw mother-of-pearl materials were among the kingdom's prominent trade goods. The export of raw mother-of-pearl was limited between [[1436]] and [[1596]], but operated on a large scale previously, and afterward.<ref>Tokugawa Yoshinobu, vii.</ref>

Mother-of-pearl inlay techniques, known as ''raden'', employed thin slices of the turban shell (J: ''yakôgai''; ''Lunatica marmorata''),<ref name=toku3/> a sea creature native to Ryukyuan waters, to insert shimmering, rainbow-colored designs into lacquered pieces. ''Raden'' is traditionally said to have first been introduced to Ryûkyû in [[1636]] by [[Zeng Guoji]] (J: Sô Kuniyoshi)<!--曾国吉--> from [[Fujian province|Fujian]], who was then appointed ''kaizuri-shi'' or ''aogai-shi'' ("master of lacquerware") in [[1642]].　Further, the technique for preparing the shells<!--煮貝の法--> is said to have been introduced by [[Omitake Hyobu|Ômitake chikudun peechin Hyôbu]]<!--大見武憑武--> in [[1690]], who had studied such techniques in [[Hangzhou]]. <ref name=miyagi116>Miyagi Eishô 宮城栄昌, ''Ryûkyû shisha no Edo nobori'' 琉球使者の江戸上り, Tokyo: Daiichi Shobô (1982), 115-116.</ref> However, documentary evidence and extant objects show that ''raden'' techniques were known in Ryûkyû by the end of the 14th century, if not earlier. Mother-of-pearl-inlay objects were regularly among tribute goods or gifts given by the Ryukyuan court to the courts of China and Japan from the 1430s onward, and ''raden'' objects as well as the raw mother-of-pearl materials were among the kingdom's prominent trade goods. The export of raw mother-of-pearl was limited between [[1436]] and [[1596]], but operated on a large scale previously, and afterward.<ref>Tokugawa Yoshinobu, vii.</ref>