366 ART INDUSTRY AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS. 



B. — Work of the Makiye-shi. 



This has for its object the artistic ornamentation of lacquer-wares 

 in which the use of gold and silver dust plays an important part. 

 The representation of a picture, or description of any other work of 

 art, has its great difficulties, and it is moreover impossible to teach 

 an art by description. The Makiye-shi or gold-lacquer painter 

 practises a real art. He must combine a long apprenticeship, 

 often from eight to ten years, with unmistakable natural talent, 

 before he can succeed in working as a master in his department, 

 and be able to create with skilled hand those artistic decorations 

 whose perfect beauty we admire in many of the Japanese lacquered 

 articles. 



On this account, the following can be but a brief statement of 

 the universal method of his work, and of the principles recognised 

 everywhere as governing it, notwithstanding its great variety. In 

 addition to the rules already (p. 356) stated, which are the same 

 for all workers, these principles are as follows : — 



1. The Naka-nuri-togi or final process of the groundwork must 

 be performed with the greatest care, and form a perfectly smooth 

 surface. 



2. On this base the design is sketched freehand with a fine 

 brush and a thin paste of white lead or some other colour, and 

 water, or — when the artist is less skilled — a pattern is pricked 

 through and then put on with Shita-makiye, i.e. "drawing of the 

 under ground." This is done in a brownish red thin colour, made 

 by mixing red oxide of iron (Beni-gara) with Se-shime-urushi. 



3. Gold, silver and other colours are almost all strewn in powder 

 over the moist Shita-makiye, or at the side, and then swept on with 

 a brush (Plate IV. figs. 5, 6, or 3). This is done especially in cases 

 like wood imitation, when the colour is to shade away and diminish 

 from a certain line. Polishing of course follows the drying of a 

 coat of light-coloured varnish, usually Nashi-ji. 



4. That which is to stand out in relief is at first sketched in out- 

 line only, and not treated further till all is finished on the surface. 



The most notable and important decorative material of the 

 Makiye-shi is gold. It is used in a powder in two principal shades, 

 under the names Yaki-gane and Koban. Yaki-gane, i.e. burnt 

 metal, or Yaki-kin, i.e. burnt gold, is a pure, deep yellow, so-called 

 ducat gold ; Koban on the other hand is a green coin-gold, an alloy 

 of 7*4 parts gold and 26 parts silver. Other alloys poorer in gold 

 are also used. A large number of varieties of gold and silver filings 

 are distinguished according to the grade of fineness, and are 

 separated by a sieve, and called by particular names ; — Kin-pun or 

 Keshi-ko is the finest gold, and Gin-pun the finest silver-dust. 

 It is obtained by covering with glue the corresponding metal foil 

 of the gold beater, pulverizing it when dry, and then separating the 

 metal from the glue by washing. 



