Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(53)Carpentersandtheirtools—planes,saws,chisels,adze,mallet,whetstone,andink-line
OnematerialavailabletotheJapanesecraftsmanthatEuropedidnotknowwaslacquer.
Apart from the utensils already mentioned, lacquer is also the basis of decorative pat-
ternsusedtoembellishallsortsoffurniture—readingdesks,tables,writingcabinets,toilet-
boxes,dressingtables—andequipmentsuchasamorandpalanquins.Itoccupiedtheplace
that was taken in Europe by inlaying, painting, and varnishing ( 52 ) . Another material that
hadcountlessusesofwideutilitywasbamboo:cutandtrimmed,itmadefences,poles,and
masts; with its nodal divisions bored through it made pipes for leading water down a hill-
side, the natural taper making it easy to join lengths by pushing the narrow end of one into
the wider end of the next. Bamboo can be split into neat sections and slivers and used for
basketry, lattices, and screens, as well as for receptacles such as cups and ladles. In con-
junction with paper (that also had wide application from paper handkerchiefs to clothing),
it was used for making both flat and folding fans, some headgear, and the frames of um-
brellas (to be covered with oiled paper) and of paper lanterns. Paper was made from the
fibers of the inner bark of trees, especially the mulberry, but not from rags, and its produc-
tion formed a considerable industry, with regional specialties, and a very wide variety of
products. For example, even in the tenth century the color and pattern of the paper a poem
was written on had an importance nearly as great as the quality of the poem itself, and in
theTokugawaperiod,whenitcametowritingletters,thepaperusedhadtohavetheappro-
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