There are several accounts concerning the origins of Wakasa Nuri. According to local tradition, the craft began in the early Edo period when an Obama lacquer artisan named Matsuura Sanjuro developed a form of lacquer decoration inspired by Chinese lacquerware and by the appearance of the sea.
One account preserved in Obama states that Matsuura reproduced a colored lacquer tray obtained from overseas by a local merchant. The early style is traditionally said to have been known as Kikujin-nuri.
The technique was subsequently refined, and other methods such as Isokusa-nuri were developed. By around the middle of the seventeenth century, techniques involving eggshell, shell, gold and silver leaf, repeated lacquer coating, and polishing had developed into forms closely related to those practiced today.
The Obama domain named the craft Wakasa Nuri and encouraged its production as a local industry. Craftspeople developed numerous techniques and decorative patterns, including designs such as Kikusui Shiohi.
Production flourished from the middle to the late Edo period, and Wakasa Nuri was used for a variety of vessels, boxes, and furnishings. It is traditionally recorded that in 1860 a Wakasa lacquered chest was presented in connection with the marriage of Princess Kazu.
The craft continued as a specialty of the Obama region after the Meiji Restoration. Although the number of artisans producing traditional lacquer vessels later declined with changes in lifestyles, the production of lacquered chopsticks expanded substantially and became one of the best-known industries of Obama.
On February 6, 1978, Wakasa Nuri was designated as a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government.
Today, artisans in Obama continue to preserve traditional techniques including decoration with eggshell and shell, repeated lacquer coating, polishing, and final finishing.

1. 1. Cloth pasting There are over sixty steps in the Wakasa Lacquerware production process, which can be broadly divided into a few general steps. The process, excluding the first step of wood base making, will be done by one person. Sturdy wood from trees like Japanese zelkova, Japanese horse chestnut, magnolia, chestnut, cherry, and Japanese cherry birch is used for the wood base. When choosing the wood, it is important to double check for any warping. After drying the selected wood for an appropriate amount of time, it is cut to the exact shape and size required for the piece.
   Cloth and Japanese traditional paper is pasted onto joints and cracks of the wood base for strengthening and to cover up any holes. This process, called cloth pasting, must be done carefully in order to prevent the wood from cracking or warping.
2. 2. Undercoating The next process is undercoating. Filtered raw lacquer, clay powder, and glue are mixed well and applied evenly over the entire surface of the wood base with a brush. Rust lacquer, a mixture of powder pebbels and raw lacquer, are neatly applied using a spatula. While the undercoat will not be visible once the item is completed, it is still an important layer that will greatly influence the beauty of the final product.
3. 3. Intermediate coating After the undercoat has dried, it is time for rust polishing which is the process of polishing and sanding the wood base using a whetstone and water. An intermediate coat of lacquer is applied afterwards to prevent the decorative lacquer from being absorbed by the polishing powder during the next step.
4. 4. Creating patterns Patterns are created by sprinkling various natural materials such as eggshells, seashells, mother-of-pearl, and rice husks on top of the intermediate coating. The patterns must be created before the lacquer dries, but they will not turn out well if the lacquer dries too quickly either. As the rate of drying is the most ideal in winter, patterns are created between December and March.
5. 5. Mixed coating Coating and polishing are done numerous times once the patterns are complete. Mixed coating refers to coating of two or more different colors of colored lacquer on top of one another, creating uniqueness, luster and colors.
6. 6. Gold leaf placement Gold leaf is placed over the mixed coating, adding an elegant and beautiful glow to the patterns.
7. 7. Heavy coating The item is coated with many layers of lacquer and polished to gradually bring the patterns to the surface.
8. 8. Stone polishing The article is polished in sequence, starting by using the roughest whetstone (such as coarse whetstones) and progressively changing to finer ones (such as medium whetstones, followed by finishing whetstones), until the patterns are clearly visible. Stone polishing is a process unique to Wakasa Lacquerware as other types of lacquerware do not use this technique.
9. 9. Charcoal polishing After stone polishing, the item is coated with glossy lacquer and touch up lacquer. It is then polished and smoothed using coarse and medium charcoal made from magnolia, followed by soft charcoal made from koda tree and crepe myrtle.
10. 10. Polishing Oil polishing powder, a mixture of polishing powder and canola oil, is applied onto a piece of cloth and used to rub and polish the surface of the piece. Next, floss silk soaked in raw lacquer is used to polish the surface further. The final step involves applying canola oil and natural red oxide on the fingers and polishing in circular motions, then the lacquerware is finally complete.