
In April I set up my workroom. Due to the housing situation, this is the smallest workroom I have ever had.


On the right is a cabinet called muro for hardening urushi.
About 20 years ago, after training in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture (about 7 years), I converted a room in my parents' house in Hiroshima City into a workroom. At that time, I made all the desks, etc. by myself, including muro. I broke them up roughly and carried this set of workroom tools with me every time I moved. My current house is a rental house and we are going to move somewhere else in the future, so this is the minimum equipment I need.
Urushi hardens most easily when the temperature is 25~30℃ and the humidity is around 70%. Therefore, except during the rainy season, a cabinet called “muro,” which means “bath for urushi,” is used to harden it.
Further details on the mechanism of urushi hardening is given on this page.

The upper is dry muro without moisture, and the lower is muro with moisture.
Dry muro is used for slow hardening. After applying urushi, harden the surface in the dry muro for a few hours, and then moved to the humidified muro to harden the inside well. Muro is said to be a mispronunciation of Furo meaning bath.
2024.07.01
tr. 2025.01.26