Lacquer
- Japanese 漆 (urushi)
Lacquer is a natural plastic-like substance made from the sap of the lac tree; typically combined with red or black coloring, it is used for both decorative and practical purposes, covering objects in an attractive and waterproof coating.
Scholars formerly believed that lacquer techniques were first introduced to Japan from China; however, examples of lacquer use in the Japanese archipelago have been discovered dating back roughly 6000 years, indicating that lacquer was being used in the islands as early as in the Jômon period.
Lacquerwares (J: shikki) are typically made with wooden or paper cores, which are then coated in many layers of lacquer, resulting in surprisingly lightweight objects. Other materials can be used as the core, however. The most typical forms for lacquerware are boxes, trays, and dishes, but lacquer has also been used as a sculptural material (chiefly in the Nara period; see dry lacquer sculpture), and as a material for painting with (also chiefly in the Nara period, though most famously used in this manner by Shibata Zeshin 1807-1891).
The sap of the lac plant - i.e. lacquer itself - is poisonous to the touch, in a similar manner to the touch of poison ivy or poison oak, until the material cures and hardens. However, as is the case with poison ivy and its ilk, a percentage of people have a natural immunity to the effects, allowing them a particular advantage in becoming successful lacquerware artisans.
References
- Tatsuo Kobayashi, “Nurturing the Jomon,” in Jomon Reflections (Oxford: Oxbow, 2004), 89.
