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The Yomiuri Shimbun Kohei Maeda applies lacquer, with the muro chamber in the background, in Yamashina Ward, Kyoto.
By Yuya Iwasaki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
12:41 JST, May 10, 2025
KYOTO — “Not too thick, not too thin.” Kohei Maeda, 38, applies lacquer with a brush, keeping a sharp eye on the object’s surface to detect any irregularities.
The Yomiuri Shimbun The lacquer is applied in many layers. The brush marks are drawn flat like a mirror by surface tension.The Yomiuri Shimbun Dried lacquer is polished with a whetstone or charcoal.
When the lacquer has dried, he polishes the surface with a whetstone, and then applies another layer of lacquer. This process, of laying on a coating and polishing it, is repeated to create a jet-black surface that reflects its surroundings like a mirror.
Watching him apply the layers, each one exquisite in its fineness, I felt like I was witnessing the moments of history accumulating.
The Maeda Shikko lacquer workshop, Maeda’s place of work that was founded by his father Toshiharu, 66, is located in a complex of studios that produce Buddhist altars and related objects in Yamashina Ward, Kyoto. Maeda has worked mainly on Buddhist altars and decorations for temples and shrines.
This workshop accepts various lacquer applying orders, such as lacquering that will serve as a base coat for gold foil, lacquering with a brush to make a glossy surface, and polishing lacquer with charcoal to complete the work. There work includes not only finishing with lacquer alone, but also creating bases for other craft items such as hakuoshi leaf stamping and maki-e.
“Giving a proper black color to the surface is essential. It enhances other colors and makes the whole piece look grand and beautiful,” Maeda said.
In his father’s footsteps
Maeda grew up watching his father work from an early age, and he found himself spending his adolescence around lacquer.
In elementary school, he began practicing kendo. The breastplate that kendo practitioners wear to protect their chests is made with lacquered leather.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Maeda’s favorite kendo breastplate, which was prepared by his father
For a long time, Maeda had an ordinary breastplate, and thought of lacquer as “plain.” But when he was in university, his view changed drastically. When he needed a new breastplate, his father worked on it for him.
The front was black, gleaming with such an intense shade of ebony that you could intimidate an opponent just by wearing it. The back was decorated with gold leaf and finished with transparent lacquer.
When Maeda appeared in kendo matches, his breastplate drew praise from his instructor and older teammates. A little later, he learned that the lacquering and polishing process had been repeated as many as 15 times.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Maeda, right, with his father Toshiharu
“Even when working on the parts that aren’t visible, my father didn’t cut corners,” said Maeda. “I felt it came from his sense of aesthetics as an artisan.” He was proud of his father, and realized that lacquer was an art that was second to none.
After graduation, he had a job with an automobile parts manufacturer, but having seen lacquer applied to Buddhist altar objects, giving vitality to new pieces and new life to old pieces, he couldn’t forget that line of work. It was something he had to do, he thought, and he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps at the age of 23.
‘Now it is my turn’
Maeda learned various techniques from his father and artisans in the workshop. He was told to “work carefully, from the undercoating process through to the final lacquering process.”
He also learned how to hold the tools in his hands and move them smoothly, and committed these movements to muscle memory while restoring pieces.
“I’m making what people pray with pressed hands, so I have to make things worthy of awe,” he always told himself, he recalled.
These days, however, he can apply lacquer without being overly tense. As he approaches his work while breathing very gently, he even seems to be imbued with the spirituality of a martial artist.
The Yomiuri Shimbun A small Buddhist altar lacquered by Maeda
The quality of lacquered objects cannot be determined until they are removed from the lacquer drying chamber called a “muro,” a large wooden box in which temperature and humidity are controlled. Applying too much lacquer or applying it unevenly can cause a surface to wrinkle and shrink, resulting in a wavy appearance or flaking.
“The skill of the artisan directly affects the result,” Maeda said.
As artisans confront the results of their work, their skills are gradually refined.
In recent years, the demand for Buddhist altars has plummeted, mainly due to changing lifestyles among Japanese people.
To encourage people to use lacquerware in their daily lives, Maeda’s father created the “Maeda Blue” technique, in which a blue lacquer is applied and polished to produce a beautiful gradation of color. He has also created unique products such as chests and teacups decorated using such techniques that include embedding gold leaf in the grain of the wood and then covering it with lacquer.
Maeda feels that now it is his turn.
“I’ll start by using the techniques I have learned to make attractive products that people want to pick up,” Maeda said.
He believes that going beyond the field of Buddhist altar paraphernalia will help him further develop his skills and pass them on to the next generation.
He continues to explore all possibilities, confronting his own image reflected on the jet-black lacquer.
***
If you are interested in the original Japanese version of this story, click here.
