Lacquerware Recovered from Collapsed Workshop in Wajima; Items to be Displayed in Tokyo Department Store in April

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:17 JST, March 3, 2024

WAJIMA, Ishikawa — Lacquerware from a workshop in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, that collapsed due to the Noto Peninsula Earthquake has been recovered and will be put on display at a department store in Tokyo.

More than 50 pieces of lacquerware, including bright vermilion works, were found in the remains of a store and workshop belonging to Ikehata Shikkodo, a lacquerware company in Wajima. The company collected the items late last month and plans to select about 30 of them for an exhibition at Mitsukoshi department store in Nihombashi, Tokyo, in April.

Ikehata Shikkodo creates work under the brand name “Wajima Ryusaku.” After the earthquake, third-generation company president Ryuji Ikehata, 56, began searching for items through the rubble with the help of volunteers as part of efforts to protect the brand that was created by his grandfather, Ryusaku.

A lacquered box and an inkstone box made by his grandfather about 60 years ago were found along with bowls produced by the company. Ikehata said, “Along with the works that survived the earthquake, I want to make sure to revive my shop and continue to convey the appeal of Wajima lacquerware.”