358 ART INDUSTRY AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS, 



4. The Nuno-kise or Kami-kise, i.e. covering (kiseru) with hemp 

 canvas or paper. Paste and Se-shime-urushi are mixed thoroughly 

 to a thin pulp, with which the article is thinly coated. A sheet of 

 Mino-gami (strong Broussonetia bast paper from the province of 

 Mino), or thin hempen cloth, is laid on and pressed down smooth 

 and firm with the spatula. The edges are clipped off evenly with 

 the shears, and a thin coat of lacquer is put on with the spatula or 

 brush. The great importance of this whole process to the durability 

 of the lacquer ware is obvious. On the one hand the cover forms 

 a sort of partition, which prevents the exudations of the volatile 

 oil and resin of the wood from penetrating the lacquer varnish out- 

 side, and on the other gives to the wood also greater firmness, 

 hindering especially its warping. Naturally, only the strong, long- 

 fibred Japanese hand-made paper will answer this purpose, and 

 not the chopped-up machine-made paper of the " rag engine." 



5. The Kata-ji (Kata = firm, ji = ground), is a fairly thick coat of 

 stiff putty, which is prepared like the Hi-kome (3) and applied with 

 the spatula. It is often repeated after drying and smoothing off 

 the inequalities by means of Omura-do. 



6. The Kiri-ko, i.e. mixed powder. Pulverized ochre (To-no-ko), 

 is mixed with water to a stiff paste and then tempered with Se-shime, 

 a little Ji-no-ko (brick dust) and paste (Nori), and thoroughly 

 mixed. It becomes thus a pulp which is easily laid on with the 

 spatula or brush (Hake), and dries in the open air in from i to 2 

 days. Then follows again the polishing off the unevennes§es. 



7. The Ji-gatame (ji = ground, katameru = to make strong). For 

 this process only Se-shime-urushi is used, worked beforehand with 

 water into a thin paste. The article to be lacquered is painted over 

 lightly with it and then rubbed quickly over with a cloth. When 

 dry it shows a blackish brown colour. 



8. The Sabi, derived from Sabi-iro, i.e. colour of iron-rust. The 

 article treated with Ji-gatame, is now painted over with a tolerably 

 stiff mixture prepared like that for the Kiri-ko (No. 6), with the 

 exception of the paste, and sometimes of the brick-dust also. 

 Rubbing (togi) again follows drying, this time with sandstone and 

 water, till the surface is smooth and the colour a dark greyish 

 brown. 



9. The Sumi-bike, or coating (hiku) with India-ink. A poor 

 quality of the ink is ground hard with water and then rubbed in 

 with a little ball of cotton. 



10. The Naka-nuri (naka = middle, inner; muri = lacquering). 

 Naka-nuri-urushi a poor kind of Hana-urushi (see page 353) is a 

 shiny, black, thick lacquer, which is mixed with from -^ to tV of^ its 

 bulk of Se-shime, and a few drops of Sake or rice-beer, and then 

 pressed through a layer of several sheets of Yoshino paper. The 

 application is made with a flat brush, and the drying takes place 

 in a closed, damp room. 



Then follows the Naka-nuri-togi, i.e. the rubbing down (togu) of 



