476 JAPANESE LACQUER AND LACQUER WARE. 





several salts of urushic acid and the preparation of several of its de- 

 rivatives, as hexabromurushic acid and dinitrouriishic acid, and some 

 excellent suggestions for improving- the quality of lacquered articles. 



We now come to the further preparation of lacquer for use in the 

 manufacture of the several varieties of lacquered articles, and I would 

 say that whoever is sufficiently interested in the subject to spend an 

 hour at the National Museum will find the process of manufacture 

 very fully illustrated there. 



A portion of the raw lacquer, about 1C pounds, is poured into a large 

 circular wooden vessel, and vigorously stirred with a long-handled tool 

 for five or six hours, while the heat of a small charcoal furnace is 

 ingeniously thrown upon the surface to evaporate the water. Dur- 

 ing the stirring certain ingredients may be added from time to time. 

 T have seen this operation as conducted in Osaka. The roiro, a fine 

 black lacquer, is made by adding iron at this stage. In Tokio a solu- 

 ble salt of iron is used, but the Osaka manufacturer objects to that] 

 asserting that it injures the quality of the lacquer. The material used 

 in Osaka was the fine irou dust collected from the grinding of knives. 

 This was added in quantities of about a tea-cup full of powder mixed with 

 water at a time, until the desired color was obtained. When the work is- 

 finished the lacquer is poured into a vessel to settle and is afterwards 

 drawn off from the sediment. The various other additions made to the 

 raw lacquer in the course of manufacture have already been mentioned. 



The wood generally used for lacquer work is the light, easily-worked 

 hi noli, a coniferous wood from the Chamcecyparis (Retinospora) obtusa. 

 It is prepared to receive the lacquer in various ways. For inferior work 

 it is first covered with paper, but in the fiuer qualities paper is not 

 used. The operations to be described apply to the manufacture of that 

 variety of lacquer known as YVakasa lacquer, and are from personal ob- 

 servation. The wood is first carefully smoothed and the corners of the 

 boxes strengthened by gluing pieces of cotton or hemp cloth around 

 them with raw lacquer. All joints and imperfections are then filled with 

 tsugi urushi (tsugi, to fasten), which fills like putty. This is a dark- 

 colored mixture composed of rice flour made into a paste with water 

 and mixed with seshime urushi. It soon hardens so that it can scarcely 

 be cut with a knife. Sometimes finely cut hemp is mixed with the 

 tsugi itnishi. The tool used for this work is the take no hera. The work 

 is then covered with jinoko, a mixture of seshime urushi and a coarse 

 powder of a yellowish color. The mixture is soft, of a yellowish-brown 

 color, changing to black by exposure to the air. It is spread with a 

 wooden instrument called hera. You will observe that the specimen 

 box is only covered on the bottom and the outside with this mixture. 

 This is because it is only deemed necessary to cover those parts most 

 subject to wear. The article is left for a few days in the open air to 

 allow some of the water to evaporate, after which it is placed in a moist- 



