Buy any 2 items, save 15% · Applied automatically at checkout

Urushi Studies

The Journal

Urushi Studies

漆

The craft of Japanese lacquer — the trees, the technique, and the workshops keeping urushi alive.

Hida Shunkei: The Transparent Lacquer That Shows the Wood Hida Shunkei lacquerware from Takayama: visible wood grain, warm transparent urushi, yellow and red grounds, and practical care.
Negoro-nuri: Japan's Red-and-Black Lacquer Tradition Negoro lacquer’s red-over-black surface, its connection with Negoro-ji, the patina of historical objects, and care for modern lacquerware.
Chinkin: The Sunken-Gold Carving of Wajima Lacquerware Chinkin decorates lacquer with engraved lines and points filled with gold leaf or powder. Explore Wajima’s technique, provenance, and care.
Tsugaru-nuri: Aomori's Layered, Polished Urushi Lacquerware Tsugaru-nuri from Aomori: layered and polished urushi, the kara, nanako, monsha, and nishiki styles, and care for lacquerware in everyday...
Yamanaka Lacquerware: Japan's Wood-Turned Urushi Tradition Explore Yamanaka lacquerware: woodturning, grain-revealing urushi, tea utensils, and the distinction between traditional wooden work and modern resin products.
Maki-e: The Japanese Art of Sprinkled-Gold Lacquer Maki-e lacquer decoration: Nara-period roots, flat, polished and raised techniques, provenance, and care for sprinkled-gold work.
Kishu Lacquerware: Wakayama’s Everyday Craft Tradition Kishu lacquerware from Wakayama: Kuroe, Negoro finishes, traditional wood and urushi, modern resin products, and care based on each piece’s...
Wajima-nuri: The Foundations of an Urushi Lacquerware Tradition How Wajima-nuri is built, from cloth reinforcement and ji-no-ko foundations to plain lacquer, chinkin and maki-e, with advice on choosing...

Craft & Kilns

The places, materials and people behind Japanese craft.

Yellow wild-grape Kutani plate and white mejiro rice bowl on a sunlit wooden dining table.

Craft & Kilns

The Story of Kutani Ware

Early Kutani, Yoshidaya and export porcelain: the history behind the styles.

Illustrative home-table visualization of ZenKiln’s red-and-blue Edo Kiriko kagome pair; the actual product photo appears in the guide below.

Craft & Kilns

Edo Kiriko: Tokyo Cut Glass

Illustrative arrangement of pale Hagi-style bowls, cups, and a flask on a wooden table.

Craft & Kilns

Hagi Ware and the Seven Changes

Illustrative arrangement of blue-and-white Hasami-style porcelain for an everyday table.

Craft & Kilns

Hasami Porcelain for Everyday Tables

Browse all studies

Care & Guides

Practical reading for the pieces you use every day.

View all care guides

Series

Stories on tea bowls, Japanese lacquer and ceramic color.

Teabowl Studies

Teabowl Studies

Reading the chawan — kilns, glazes, and how a bowl is held

Urushi Studies

Urushi Studies

The craft of Japanese lacquer, layer by layer

Color of Utsuwa

Color of Utsuwa

How Japanese ceramics found their palette

All Stories

The latest stories, with more to explore by topic.

Editorial visualization of hands rocking a bamboo screen of white kōzo pulp over a vat; not a named Ogawa workshop photograph.

Hosokawa-shi: The UNESCO Paper of the Ogawa Valley

Editorial illustration of translucent Japanese paper held to window light; not a papermaking workshop photograph or fibre-identification example.

What Is Washi? A Guide to Japan's Handmade Paper

Hana-Mishima-pattern donabe with floral decoration and its lid in place.

Banko Ware: Donabe and Teapots

Editorial comparison of Japanese green-tea servings; the colours are illustrative and are not producer samples.

Shizuoka Green Tea: How to Brew Sencha, Gyokuro & Genmaicha

Hechimon Shigaraki rectangular bud vase holding a slender dried branch on a wood shelf.

Shigaraki Ware: Clay and Fire

The Lucie Rie exhibition signboard at the Art Deco entrance of Tokyo's Teien Art Museum.

Lucie Rie at Teien: Form, Glaze and the East–West Exhibition

Light falling through open shoji onto a wooden engawa and garden, an editorial illustration of summer air.

Japanese Summer Cooling: The Art of Ryō o Toru

Seikou bird teapot, cherry-pattern tea cup and removable strainer on a kitchen worktop.

The Six Essentials of Tea: Leaf, Water, Fire, Vessel, Setting, Person

Exhibition signboard for Lucie Rie: Elegant Vessels Fusing East and West beside the glass nameplate of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum

Lucie Rie at the Teien Museum: The 2026 Exhibition