| architecture |
| calligraphy |
| ceramics |
| clothing |
| comics |
| gardens |
| lacquerwork |
| literature |
| movies |
| music |
| painting |
| poetry |
| sculpture |
| tea ceremony |
| television |
| theatre |
| weaponry |
| thematic routes |
| timeline |
| the site |
context: lacquerwork > technical
What is lacquer?
|
a very early, and somewhat worn, cosmetics box from the Heian period (794-1185 AD) |
What we call lacquer in Japan is NOT a varnish like that which takes the word in the West. It is the sap of a tree imported from China, of the same family as poison oak and ivy. In its raw state it is poisonous (not so when it hardens), and apprentices can take years to build up a tolerance.
It doesn't so much dry as harden, and it does so best in high humidity and preferably warm conditions, so traditionally the main lacquerwork was done in the rainier May to October.