Carved lacquer called choshitsu - urushi (Japanese lacquer)

Enlarged carved lacquer called choshitsu. It's urushi (Japanese lacquer).

Choshitsu

It is characterized by the beauty of the color of the layers of colored urushi (lacquer) and the three-dimensional expression. Layers of urushi that have been applied 50 to 100 times are carved.

Choshitsu originated in China about 1,200 years ago during the Tang dynasty (718-907) and became popular during the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.
Choshitsu pieces came to Japan in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) as Buddhist offerings and furnishings for nobles.

Contents for this article

Description

The pollen is made of pure gold maki-e (sprinkled picture decoration) and the veins of the leaves are unengraved.

Among Choshitsu, those carved with layers of only red urushi are called "Tsuishu" and those carved with only black urushi are called "Tsuikoku".
The design in which layers of red urushi is applied on top of layers of green urushi and carved, is called "Kokaryokuyou" (red flowers and green leaves).
After considering a completed design, colored urushi is painted over and over, carved down to the appropriate color, and polished to finish.

Engraving knives, flattening knives (7 knives on the left), whetstone

Carving the piece below.

Water Jug with Flower Patterns Urushi art by Kaori Sugano

Water Jug with Flower Patterns D17 x W17 x H18.5 cm

Work procedure

Apply urushi over and over again. (50~60 times is common).

	For black urushi, 100 layers are about 3mm thick, and for colored urushi, 50 layers are 2~3mm thick.
	At the shortest, one coat of urushi can be applied once a day (apply, harden, and polish with water-resistant paper).

choshitsu (carving lacquer) procedure by Kaori Sugano

2.	Carve down the pattern with a graver.
3.	Smooth the surface with a kisagetou (flattening knife).

choshitsu (carving lacquer) process by Kaori Sugano

Polish with abrasive charcoal in the form of a stick (rectangular) or other abrasive.

	polish with three types of abrasives: Sanwa whetstone, Suruga charcoal, and crystal whetstone.

Apply some ki-urushi and polish with polishing powder.

6.	Finished. (Top view)

Choshitsu in China

During the Song dynasty (the 12th century), choshitsu works were produced one after another a lot. Choshitsu of the Sung dynasty is significant because it became the norm for choshitsu in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties and exerted a profound influence on them.
Although it is not clear what exactly the continuous pattern represents, it is believed to have been very popular at the time, as similar patterns can be found on ceramics and silverwares of the Sung dynasty.

Saihi- carving lacquer ware in the Sung Dynasty in China.

A "Saihi" piece from the Song dynasty
(Enlarged part of the cover of the catalogue "Choshitsu of the Sung Dynasty in China")[1]

	Saihi The lower layer is covered with alternating layers of yellow and red urushi, the top layer is covered with black urushi, and geometric or abstract patterns are carved on the surface.

Choshitsu in Japan

It was in the late Edo period (1603-1867) that Zokoku Tamakaji in Takamatsu City produced works modeled after Chinese choshitsu. At that time, Chinese-style ones with layers of only black or only red urushi layers was the mainstream.
Zkoku's father was known for his seal engraving and tiny letters, and it seems that Zokoku began with this seal engraving and mastered techniques such as choshitsu, kinma, and zonsei. It is believed that Zokuko was fascinated by the three-dimensional expression that is not found in maki-e pieces, and that he produced many choshitsu works.

"Works by Zokoku Tamakaji" (Cultural Heritage Online)

This is a partially enlarged image of the cover of the book "Biography of Zokoku Tamakaji: A founder of Kagawa Urushi Art”[2]

In 1955, Kodo Otomaru was certified as a holder of Important Intangible Cultural Heritage (Living National Treasure) in choshitsu under the revised Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties in 1954, which had a great impact on the current Sanuki (Kagawa) urushi art. Most of the choshitsu artists active today who are over 60 years old (as of 2024) are Kodo's students.
Kodo, born in 1898, began working for Yoshinao Takagi, a wealthy family member in his early twenties as a highly paid professional in the production of votive offerings. Yoshinao, an educated man and tea master, taught him tea ceremony manners, Chinese literature, and Chinese poetry. Yoshinao gave Kodo the pseudonym "Kodo," which means "to launch a family”. In his twenties, Kodo studied painting, calligraphy, tea ceremony manners, Chinese studies, Japanese traditional poetry, all of which were related to his work.

When I get the inspiration to make something like this, when the source of the idea strikes me, only then do I start enjoying it, and I am already hooked on it. It's no wonder it works well. It's my own inspiration. As the days go by, I lose interest in it when it is finished, and I feel frustrated, thinking, 'I shouldn't have done that,' or 'I should have done that,' and it stirs me up to work on the next one. Kodo explains his motivation for creating.

Reference: Koichiro Sumitan. (2005) “Sanuki Urushi Art: Genealogy of a Craft Kingdom”[3], Kawade Shobo Shinsha, p. 245

Kodo's motto is "Enjoy this and never get tired," but even in the works that he worked on with great enthusiasm, he was rarely satisfied with his own work, and when a large number of people saw his work, he felt frustration and impatience as if he were naked.
"Works of Kodo Otomaru" (Japan Kōge Association)

References

1.	Tokyo National Museum. (2004). "Choshitsu of the Sung Dynasty in China".
2	Koichiro Sumitani. (2016) "Biography of Zokoku Tamakaji: A founder of Kagawa Urushi Art" under the supervision of Kagawa Prefecture. Kyoryudo.
3.	Koichiro Sumitani. (2005). “Sanuki Urushi Art: Genealogy of a Craft Kingdom”. Kawade Shobo Shinsha.

All of them are in Japanese.

My works of choshitsu

2024.05.14

Page Top