LACQUER WORK. 343 



earlier, as in the district of Yoshino, province of Yamato. The 

 two most important instruments used in obtaining it, are the 

 Kaki-gama or scratching sickle (Plate III. fig. 10), a thin iron plate 

 bent like a fish-hook, with its U-shaped end tempered and sharp- 

 ened like a knife on the concave side, corresponding to the lancet 

 of our foresters ; and the Natsu-bera or summer spatula (Plate III., 

 fig. 11), a flat iron spoon with a short, bent-over point. The 

 first is used to cut the tree, but the Natsu-bera for scraping out 

 the channels when full of lac, and lifting it into the Go or small 

 wooden or bamboo pail. In the case of old trees with a thick, 

 rugged bark, this must first be cleared away and the trunk made 

 smooth before the Kaki-gama can be used. This bark scraping 

 is effected by the Kawa-muki or bark peeler, a long, somewhat 

 sickle-shaped, bent knife. The straight knife or Hocho (Plate 

 III., fig. i), and the Ye-guri, punch or gouge (Plate III., fig. 2), 

 are also occasionally used by the lac-tapster. If he is sensitive 

 to the poisonous vapour of the sap, he protects his hands by 

 Te-bukuro or mittens. 



Almost all the workmen engaged in extracting the lac come 

 from the vicinity of Fukui in the province of Echizen. They 

 number some fifteen or sixteen hundred. They go out into the 

 several lac-districts in spring, mostly toward the north, where they 

 are employed by the lac-dealers, who buy the trees from the 

 peasants and point them out to their workmen, usually 1,000 

 young trees to each. Where the trees are older, from 600 to 800 

 will keep a Shokunin busy for the entire summer. Ten years ago 

 the average price of 100 trees was from 30 to 36 yen, but it is now 

 almost doubled, owing to the greater demand for raw lac, and its 

 increased price. 



When the lac-tapster has made all his preparations and cleared 

 his trees of bark, he takes the Kaki-gama, and with a quick stroke 

 in a horizontal direction makes an incision through the rind and 

 bast about two millimeters broad, on the lower part of the trunk. 

 He passes the hook of the knife through this girdle-cutting, in 

 order to remove any bits of bark which may have fallen in, and 

 then a span (15 to 20 cm.) higher, on the opposite side, makes a 

 second and a third gash the same distance apart, then afresh on 

 the other side in six to ten places, quickly following, as far as he 

 can reach. I have seen a", practised Urushi-shokunin make an 

 incision each second. Then he goes to another tree and does the 

 same. When he has cut. ten or fifteen trees, he returns to the 

 first and collects the raw lac or Ki-urushi in the same order. It 

 is a greyish white thick emulsion, which becomes first yellowish 

 brown and soon after black, on exposure to the air. It fills the 

 gash but does not usually run over. It is taken out with the 

 point of the Natsu-bera and then scraped off over the edge of the 

 little pail (Go) which the workman carries in his left hand. 



When he has finished this work, he goes to another group of 



