​Crafts column

Urushi lacquer is the sap that comes out when the lacquer tree is damaged, and it is an extremely versatile substance that can be used as a paint or adhesive through various processing methods. Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery with gold, also uses urushi lacquer in all stages, including the final decorative work. Lacquer trees grow in East Asia, including Japan. However, the lacquer trees from Japan and China have urushiol as their main component, while those fro

A lacquer base coat is used before applying the lacquer to reinforce any imperfections and smooth the surface; it's like cement in architecture. Rust and other imperfections are also part of this, but this time we'll be focusing on "ground powder." "Ji no kō" refers to a mixture used as a base coat for lacquer in various lacquer-producing regions. It is made by mixing a mixture of water and glue with raw lacquer, and comes in many varieties, including earth, sand, and diatoma

The reason I wrote "Kokuso" in katakana in the title is because there are cases where the kanji characters are different. Both "刻苧" and "木屎" are pronounced the same and serve the same purpose of filling in defects, but the materials used are different. In the Circolo Kintsugi class, when the damage is extensive, we use "hemp," and for less extensive damage, we use "wood powder." There are various types of hemp, but the one we use in the class is called ramie (or karamushi, ch