By Ines Keane
The surface is the last thing to happen. What makes Wajima lacquerware what it is, according to Wikipedia, is an undercoat: multiple layers of urushi, the lacquer, mixed with powdered diatomaceous earth, applied to thin zelkova wood. The article calls this the main distinguishing feature of Wajima-nuri, and says it makes the ware durable.
What it is
Wikipedia describes Wajima-nuri as Japanese lacquerware made in Wajima, in Ishikawa. The powder in the undercoat is called ji-no-ko. The substrate is zelkova, according to the article. That is the whole technical statement the page gives, and we do not add steps. We have not read a maker’s account of how many layers go on or how long each takes.
An old craft, with older claims
The article says lacquerware production in Wajima is thought to date to ancient times. It offers some markers. Lacquer products about 6,800 years old were found at the Mibiki Ruins on the Noto Peninsula. Lacquer from the Yadani B ruins in Wajima dates to the Heian period. A bowl made with a diatomaceous-earth base was excavated at the Nishikawajima Gunmidate ruins in Anamizu, from the early Muromachi period. The oldest surviving Wajima lacquerware is said to be the vermilion door of the former main hall of Juzo Shrine, said to have been made in 1524.
Several of those statements carry “thought to” or “said to”, and we pass the hedges along. Lacquer found on the Noto Peninsula is not the same as Wajima-nuri as it is made now, and the article does not claim it is.
Edo-period developments
The article says the current Wajima-nuri technique is said to have been established during the Kanbun era, in the early Edo period. Chinkin, a decorative technique, began in the Kyōhō period, in the mid-Edo period. Maki-e began in the Bunsei period, in the late Edo period. We give the era names and no years, because the article gives none.
January 2024
A powerful earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on 1 January 2024, according to a Japanese government page. The peninsula is the heart of Wajima-nuri production. The page says the disaster left Wajima in ruins, that many lacquer artisans suffered severe losses, and that Wajima-nuri is now facing a major crisis. It adds that affected artisans are continuing to create work and preserve lacquer culture.
A column on Kogei Standard, an online magazine about Japanese crafts, written after a visit on 30 October 2024, gives more detail. It describes a magnitude 7.6 earthquake and a large fire near the Honmachi shopping area. Of the 103 companies in the Wajima Lacquerware Industry and Commerce Cooperative Association, it says, 17 were destroyed by fire and 20 to 30 were completely demolished. It also reports flooding in September 2024 that hit seven of 47 temporary workshops. The column notes that lacquerware generally survived the quake better than ceramics and glass, and that chips can be repaired. The site’s own editor wrote the column, and the editor’s company promotes Japanese crafts internationally. We mark it as a promotional source.
Dates in order
- 6,800 years ago: lacquer found at the Mibiki Ruins, according to Wikipedia.
- Heian period: lacquer from the Yadani B ruins in Wajima, according to Wikipedia.
- Early Muromachi period: a bowl with a diatomaceous-earth base, according to Wikipedia.
- 1524: the Juzo Shrine door, said to have been made then, according to Wikipedia.
- Early Edo period: the current technique established, according to Wikipedia.
- 1 January 2024: the earthquake, according to a government page.
- September 2024: flooding, according to Kogei Standard.
Side by side
The encyclopedia entry is about the craft’s technique and its history. The government page and the column are about 2024. They do not contradict each other, and they do not overlap: the article we read does not mention the earthquake, and the other two do not describe the technique.
What kind of sources these are
An encyclopedia anyone can edit, a Japanese government information page, and a promotional online magazine. We used no maker’s own page. The disaster figures come from the magazine column alone.
Questions a buyer would ask
Is the piece made in Wajima, and when? Is the base zelkova? Was it made before or after January 2024? We would not assume a date. What is the decoration, if any, and which technique is it? The article names two: chinkin and maki-e. We name no maker and give no care advice, because we found none we could check.
What “durable” does and does not tell you
Wikipedia says the layered undercoat makes the ware durable. It does not say how durable, against what, or for how long, and we have not read a maker’s account of the matter. The column adds one observation from 2024: lacquerware generally survived the quake better than ceramics and glass, and chips can be repaired. That is a single observation by a single writer after a single event, and we do not turn it into a rule.
Why the layers matter to a listing
A bowl with a plain wood body and one coat of lacquer is a different object from one with the layered undercoat the article describes. Both can be called lacquerware. Only the second matches the article’s account of Wajima-nuri. Our reading: a listing that says Wajima-nuri should be able to say that the piece has the diatomaceous-earth undercoat on zelkova, or should say plainly that it does not. The article does not draw this line, and it is our inference.
What we left out
We left out the names of the companies and people the column describes, since they are living people and named businesses. We left out production percentages and money. We left out the overseas exhibitions and the violin, which the article mentions only in a line.
Roam first. Shop later.