362 ART INDUSTRY AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS. 



till a mirror-like appearance is produced, in which rape oil and bole 

 or some other fine mineral powder are used with Seshime. 



2. Wakasa-nuri, Wakasa lacquer (Plate V. Fig. U). The province 

 of Wakasa, from which it derives its name, lies on the Japan Sea, 

 north of the Biwa Lake. It is said that this kind of lacquer first 

 came into vogue in its capital Obama, from Chinese samples. It is 

 -distinguished from Tsugaru-nuri especially in having gold-yellow, 

 orange, and brown in addition in its colouring. These last pre- 

 dominate largely also, often appearing alone or in connection with 

 only a part of the Tsugaru colours. Gold-yellow, brown, and 

 orange are generally produced from gold, and but seldom from 

 silver foil. As in the process given for Tsugaru lacquering, an 

 uneven surface is laid on the finished groundwork. Then come 

 coats of several lacquer colours, one after the other. After the last 

 colour, the gold foil is laid on, and made fast by the brush. It 

 accommodates itself to the uneven surface and adheres firmly 

 everywhere. The article is allowed to dry, then given a coat of 

 transparent lacquer, which is repeated if necessary till the hollows 

 are filled up, and a smooth surface is obtained. The usual rubbing 

 with magnolia charcoal and water follows, by which process the 

 necessary lustre is reached. 



Plate V. Fig. b shows an imitation of such a specimen of 

 Wakasa-nuri with bronze colours, but does not equal the beauty 

 and polish of the original in the Industrial Art Museum in Berlin. 

 This specimen, now i8o years old, is a little box of great beauty, 

 and of such lustre that it seems as if freshly polished. Neverthe- 

 less the pictorial representation of a part of its upper surface serves 

 to illustrate the manner of its accomplishment. It will be seen 

 how, after the production of the uneven groundwork, twigs of 

 Arbor-vitae (Retinispora) are pressed into the hollows of the albu- 

 minous putty, and then when fully dry are taken away again. The 

 succession of the lacquer coats is also easily observed, viz. black, 

 greenish yellow, and red. Then came the laying on of the gold- 

 foil, the filling of the unevennesses with transparent lacquer, the 

 rubbing with magnolia charcoal and water, the repeated very thin 

 coat of transparent lacquer, and then the process of polishing as 

 has been given in other cases. In conformity to this, we see the 

 gold foil stand out in its natural colour, wherever it lies on the 

 ridges of the groundwork, and then in shading to brown where it 

 has been placed in the hollows, and covered over with several thick 

 layers of the transparent lacquer. Where the edges of the twigs 

 pressed the putty upwards, red, greenish yellow, and black bands 

 or rings or spots succeed the yellow of the gold foil in the order 

 in which (counting backwards) the coats of lacquer were laid on. 



3. Shi-tan-nuri, i.e. sandal-wood lacquer. Under this class are 

 imitations of the red sandal-wood or Shi-tan (see p. 253). They 

 are produced as follows : After the groundwork is finished, the 

 article receives a coat of cinnabar lacquer. Before it is fully dry 



