About Kobayashi Shikki It is said that the establishment of Tsugaru nuri (Tsugaru Shikki) goes back to the reign of Nobumasa TSUGARU (1646 – 1710 years), the fourth lord of Hirosaki Domain (Current Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture), in the middle of the Edo period. Nobumasa TSUGARU invited many craftsmen and engineers from all over the country to Hirosaki in order to develop Tsugaru's industry. One of the craftsmen was Genbei IKEDA, the nurishi, or craftsman of Shikki, in Wakasa Province (Present Fukui Prefecture). Under the order of Nobumasa TSUGARU, he became a disciple of Tarozaemon SEIKAI, a nurishi (present Tokyo). ...
Introduction As its name suggests, lacquerware is a traditional Japanese craft that is coated in lacquer. In Japan, when we think of New Year’s Day, osechi ryori (New Year’s food) served in stacked lacquered boxes quickly comes to mind. The word “osechi” means “New Year’s food.” The fact that lacquerware can be called “japan” in English shows that it is recognized around the world as an iconic Japanese craft. On top of being a beautiful craft, lacquerware is also very practical. One of its advantages is its antibacterial properties; despite being a 100% natural material, lacquer has a powerful antibacterial...