Hida Shunkei LacquerwarePhoto：Gifu Prefecture

  • Lacquerware
  • Gifu

Hida Shunkei Lacquerware Hida Shunkei

Hida Shunkei is known for its translucent, deep luster, achieved by applying clear lacquer over woods such as hinoki cypress and sawara cypress to highlight their natural grain. With use, the lacquer gradually develops a brighter, richer sheen, enhancing the beauty of the wood beneath. It was designated a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government in 1975.

Description

What is Hida Shunkei Lacquerware ?

Hida Shunkei is a traditional lacquerware craft produced mainly in Takayama and Hida in Gifu Prefecture. On February 17, 1975, it was designated as a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government.

Its defining characteristic is the use of transparent lacquer to reveal and enhance the natural beauty of the wood grain. Rather than covering the wooden base with a thick opaque ground, Hida Shunkei preserves the appearance of woods such as hinoki cypress, sawara cypress, and horse chestnut beneath a translucent lacquer finish.

Several traditional woodworking methods are used. Turned objects are shaped on a lathe using specialized turning tools. Board-built pieces are made by preparing and joining boards while emphasizing the natural grain, including a distinctive raised-grain treatment known as hegi-me. Bentwood techniques are also used to shape thin wooden boards into rounded forms.

In the finishing process, materials such as gojiru, a soybean-based liquid, or casein are applied to prepare the surface. Refined raw lacquer is then rubbed into the wood, followed by a final coat of refined transparent lacquer. Because the grain remains clearly visible through the lacquer, both the wooden base and the lacquer finish must be executed with great precision.

Typical products include trays, tiered boxes, confectionery vessels, tea utensils, flower vessels, document boxes, and tabletop items. With continued use, the tone and luster of the lacquer gradually change, allowing the character of the wood grain to become increasingly pronounced.

History

Hida Shunkei Lacquerware - History Photo：Gifu Prefecture

The origins of Hida Shunkei are traditionally traced to the Keicho era in the early seventeenth century.

According to the history preserved by Takayama City, Takahashi Kizaemon, a master carpenter involved in building temples and shrines in the castle town of Takayama, noticed the beautiful grain of a piece of split sawara cypress and made it into a tray.

The tray was presented to Kanamori Shigechika, the son of Kanamori Arishige, the second lord of Takayama Castle. Shigechika later became widely known as the tea master Kanamori Sowa.

Sowa is said to have admired the tray and asked the official lacquerer Narita Sanemon to finish it with transparent lacquer. The resulting color was believed to resemble that of a celebrated tea caddy known as Hishunkei, traditionally associated with the potter Kato Kagemasa. The lacquerware consequently came to be known as Shunkei-nuri.

The craft was initially used for tea utensils and related objects. From the late Edo period through the Meiji period, production expanded to include tiered boxes, trays, and other practical board-built wares.

During the Meiji and Taisho periods, wholesalers and producers promoted the industry through exhibitions in Japan and abroad, helping Hida Shunkei become more widely known.

From the Taisho period into the early Showa period, craftspeople developed new forms incorporating curved and circular shapes in addition to traditional angular constructions, broadening the range of products to include tea utensils, flower vessels, and other household objects.

Production was severely affected during World War II by shortages of lacquer and other materials, but the industry revived in the postwar period.

On February 17, 1975, Hida Shunkei was designated as a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government. Today, woodworkers and lacquer artisans continue to preserve the distinctive combination of finely prepared wooden bases and transparent lacquer finishes.

Production Process

  1. 1. Wood The woods used in Hida Shunkei Lacquerware include hinoki cypress, sawara cypress, and Japanese horse chestnut. Wood that has been naturally and thoroughly dried over the course of five to six years is made into wood bases with a woodturner. After being piled up in the open and naturally dried, the pieces are processed into portable sheets at a sawmill.
  2. 2. Natural drying The sheets are piled up, dried, and further dried inside a storehouse.
  3. 3. Sawing and timber conversion The wood is cut into boards to suit the shapes of products.
  4. 4. Wood base production Depending on the type of product, specialized hegimeshi, magemonoshi, or hikimonoshi woodturners will produce the wood base.
    For hegimeshi, the wood grain is made into hegime (grooves that are carved out between the wood grains) and parts are combined together to form rectangular boxes and trays. Nikawa glue (an adhesive produced by heating water together with animal skin and bones) is used to join boards together.
    Magemonoshi is when wooden boards that have been softened by steaming are curved to produce lunchboxes, tea canisters, and inkstone cases with rounded corners. Forms are produced using a wooden roller known as a koro, and both ends are attached with nikawa glue and then reinforced by binding with hill cherry barks.
    Lastly, for hikimonoshi, wood is placed on a lathe and hand planed with a sharp blade while rotating to produce circular pieces (trays, sweets containers, and tea saucers).
  5. 5. Filling The finished wood grain is delivered to a lacquer specialist.
    After polishing the unpainted wood, polishing powder (fine-grained clay) is mixed with water, coated on the wood, then wiped off with a cloth. This ensures that the coating of lacquer is even and that colors stay during coloring. This is said to be the most important of all processes because it evens out the surface of the unpainted wood.
  6. 6. Coloring Color is applied with yellow or red dyes.
  7. 7. Undercoating Gojiru, a soybean paste, is applied several times to produce a thin membrane that prevents lacquer from suddenly permeating the wood base.
  8. 8. Finishing and polishing The surface of the wood base is polished with sandpaper.
  9. 9. Lacquering After applying a mixture of raw lacquer and egoma oil (vegetable oil) to the wood base, it is wiped off with a cloth and the wood base is soaked with lacquer. The lacquer hardens and becomes transparent. This step is repeated many times, changing the surface appearance of the wood grain.
  10. 10. Overcoating The wood base is finished with a clear lacquer overcoat. Overcoating is applied with great care, as it can be ruined by dirt and dust. The lacquer used for overcoating is produced by lacquering masters using a secret recipe, each having their own ways of purifying raw lacquer. Also, since lacquer hardens and dries at a fixed humidity and temperature, different lacquers are used depending on the day and season.
  11. 11. Drying Items are placed in a drying room known as a furo, which is like a large closet, and dried with the proper temperature and humidity levels.

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