Arts & Crafts - Kyoto - page 376

(Ceramics Fair) is held on 18-20 July. You can also find a wide variety of ceramics in the
shops on Teramachi-dorī, between Marutamachi-dōri and Oike-dōri. Finally, the 6th floor
of Takashimaya department store ( CLICK HERE ) has a great selection of pottery.
Lacquerware
Lacquerware ( shikki or nurimono ) is made using the sap from the lacquer tree (urushi) .
Once lacquer hardens it becomes inert and extraordinarily durable. The most common col-
our of lacquer is an amber or brown, but additives are used to produce black, violet, blue,
yellow and even white. In the better pieces, multiple layers of lacquer are painstakingly
applied and left to dry, and finally polished to a luxurious shine.
Japanese artisans have devised various ways to further enhance the beauty of lacquer.
The most common method is maki-e, which involves the sprinkling of silver and gold
powders onto liquid lacquer to form a picture. After the lacquer dries, another coat seals
the picture. The final effect is often dazzling and some of the better pieces of maki-e lac-
querware are now National Treasures.
There are several places in Kyoto where you can see some stunning examples of lac-
querware, including maki-e lacquerware. The Nomura Museum ( CLICK HERE ) has a fine
collection of lacquerware utensils used in the tea ceremony. Those looking to take a bit of
lacquerware home will find an excellent selection at Zōhiko ( CLICK HERE ).
Real Japanese lacquerware is covered with a varnish made from the Toxicodendron vernicifluum
plant, which is known colloquially as 'the lacquer tree'. The resin from these trees produces
a strong allergic rash in most people, but lifetime lacquer workers usually develop immunity.
Textiles
Kyoto is famous for its kyō-yūzen textiles. Yūzen is a method of silk-dyeing (senshoku)
developed to perfection in the 17th century by fan painter Miyazaki Yūzen. Kyō-yūzen
designs typically feature simple circular flowers (maru-tsukushi) , birds and landscapes,
and stand out for their use of bright-coloured dyes. The technique demands great dexterity
in tracing designs by hand (tegaki) before rice paste is applied to fabric like a stencil to
prevent colours from bleeding into other areas of the fabric. By repeatedly changing the
pattern of the rice paste, very complex designs can be achieved.
Traditionally, when the dyeing process was complete, the material was rinsed in the
Kamo-gawa and Katsura-gawa rivers (believed to be particularly effective in fixing the