250 Mr. John O. Pelton on 
The manufacture of lacquer will be found described in several 
works, but all these have originated in a parliamentary blue- 
book by Consul Quin, where it is set forth atlength. Mr. Gilbert- 
son, the possessor of a splendid collection and a recognised 
authority on the subject, writes as follows :—‘‘I suspect that 
there are great varieties in the modes of manufacture. Probably 
every eminent master had his own peculiar method of producing 
certain effects. Usually I find a certain order of processes recorded 
in the text-books, without apparently the least suspicion that they 
apply only to certain classes of articles. I have dissected various 
specimens of lacquer, with the result of discovering that these 
descriptions were altogether inapplicable to Inro,* and I believe 
also to many other sorts of lacquer. I learned, moreover, that 
there is a great difference in the treatment of objects of the same 
class by different makers ; in fact, all the descriptions of the art 
ot lacquering can do no more than give a general idea of the 
processes employed.” 
In order to properly describe the subjects that appear in 
lacquer decoration, I must travel lightly over nearly the whole 
field of Japanese decorative art; an art inspired by the song of 
the poet as much as by the genius of the artist. The legends 
and folk-lore with which Japanese art is so amply illustrated 
appear far more frequently in metal work and carvings than in 
lacquer ; flowers and trees, views of famous places, symbolical 
combinations, the meaning of which is in many cases obscure, 
form the majority of the decorations on lacquered objects. 
These combinations are especially interesting. Perhaps the 
most frequent is the sho-chiku-bai, the plum, the bamboo, and 
the pine—fragrant, green, and everlasting, emblems of longevity. 
With these are often associated the tailed tortoise and the crane, 
emblems of long life and happiness. 
The bamboo again figures in conjunction with the tiger, con- 
sidered by the Japanese to be the king of beasts; in such cases 
the bamboo is usually bending before the dreaded typhoon, while 
the tiger in terror crouches between the lofty stalks. The 
meaning is plain: the king of beasts is powerless before the 
powers of nature. Then we see the sparrow fluttering amid the 
trembling leaves of the bamboo, both birds and leaves, the poet 
would teach us, being of a gentle timid nature. The martin in 
its swift wavy flight is associated with the waving willow. The 
sturdy pine tree is considered the emblem of strength, and when 
covered with snow of vigorous old age. The cherry tree drops 
its lovely blossoms like a fall of snow ; so when in winter the 
snow comes, the poet likens it to blossoms from some fair land 
* Inro, a nest of small boxes, slung from the belt, for holding medi- 
cines, &c. 
