Hard Lacquer

May 22, 2024 1:45 AM

What makes urushi so different from any other tree resin or in fact plastic? While it would be overly ambitious to try and offer a full insight into the role of lacquer in the spiritual lives of the Japanese people, this article can point out some elements which may lead to a better understanding of the cultural context in which appreciation for this curious resin developed. Despite the fact that urushi arguably has many drawbacks in both use and production, this ancient tradition has—seemingly against all odds—managed to survive into modern times. Still, the use of lacquer is showing a continued decline in Japan, and its manufacture and use have nearly died out in countries like Korea and Thailand. By offering some understanding about its importance as a bearer of cultural heritage, it is my hope that urushi lacquer will receive more recognition as a unique art form that is deserving of more appreciation and support. from Following the Lacquer God [Garland Magazine]
posted by chavenet (17 comments total)

🦕🦀🎉 FUKUI ACKNOWLEDGED 🍾👓🦖

My work not infrequently involves writing about lacquerware from Fukui and Ishikawa, and it’s often kind of a tough sell. It’s one thing to say that, say, some lacquerware is as durable as it is beautiful, and it’s another to try to convince people to spend potentially eye-watering amounts on individual bowls or dishes, perhaps on the grounds that they can be used for generations with proper care. Perhaps this is why a number of artisans in the region seem to be focusing more and more on producing pieces that are works of art in themselves, rather than just (“just”) artisanal crafts produced as their day job. It’s a tough market though, nowadays, especially because of the uncanny nature of the material: well-made Japanese lacquerware often winds up feeling almost indistinguishable from plastic, accidentally creating a cheapy feel that the items absolutely do not deserve, through no fault of their own.

Incidentally, my coworker actually missed a week or two of work at one point due to exposure to raw lacquer giving him a bad rash. It’s serious stuff, apparently.
posted by DoctorFedora at 2:34 AM on May 22 [12 favorites]

sacred and magical trees
posted by HearHere at 2:53 AM on May 22 [1 favorite]

Urushi feels like plastic because it is a plastic: a polymerized organic resin similar to many used in industry. While the long cultural history of its development adds historical heft, I'm not so sure about the "let's ritualize exposure to poison ivy goo" bit. I mean, if Bakelite were centuries older, would we have a (short-lived, at the individual level) priesthood admonishing their itchy, coughing acolytes to communicate with the messages that the gods of Phenol, Formaldehyde and Ammonia were sending?

Craft-made lacquerware does look and feel marvellous. My sister has some, purchased for ermahgerd money when she was a JET decades ago. It's the lightness of the pieces that's the most striking.
posted by scruss at 3:54 AM on May 22 [4 favorites]

plastic arts may be the original term from which what is commonly known as plastic these days derives
posted by HearHere at 4:23 AM on May 22 [1 favorite]

Netflix reality series Korea Number 1 is on one hand a goofy threesome of personalities fucking around and cutting up, and on the other hand a fantastic deep dive into some critical aspects of Korean cultural heritage. It's about 50% watching the hosts be lovable idiots and 50% fascinating documentary. Anyway, one of the episodes is set in Wonju region, where the hosts learn how to make (you knew there was a point to this) urushi lacquer (in Korean: najeonchilgi). The whole series is very informative, and also very silly. Recommended.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:06 AM on May 22 [6 favorites]

Where have I heard about urushi before? Ah! Self-mummification.
posted by kozad at 5:22 AM on May 22 [4 favorites]

A lot of high end Japanese fountain pens are made of ebonite coated in urushi. I have a few, most notably a Namiki Emperor Vermillion Urushi. Yeah, urushi fountain pens are expensive. That's the cheap version of the Emperor--they get a LOT more expensive. But it takes a long, long time of painstaking hand work to make each one, and the really expensive ones quality as genuine works of art.
posted by slkinsey at 6:44 AM on May 22 [6 favorites]

I never made the connection between the poison in poison ivy and poison oak, urushiol, and the urushi craft before reading this. The article doesn't explain the etymology.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 6:51 AM on May 22 [4 favorites]

well-made Japanese lacquerware often winds up feeling almost indistinguishable from plastic, accidentally creating a cheapy feel that the items absolutely do not deserve, through no fault of their own.

I have a Japanese-style tray I got as a gift and I have never been able to tell if it is incredibly expensive or incredibly cheap, and this explains some of the reason why.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:15 AM on May 22 [5 favorites]

Urushi feels like plastic because it is a plastic: a polymerized organic resin similar to many used in industry.

I can't help but wonder whether it shares plastic's tendency to ablate tiny fragments that end up inside living things that don't know what to chemically do with them.
posted by a faded photo of their beloved at 7:30 AM on May 22 [1 favorite]

Wiktionary has an English-accessible etymology of urushi / 漆. "Appears to be derived from Old Japanese root uru, as in terms such as classical Japanese 潤う (urufu) → modern 潤う (uruou, “to be moist”), うるうる (uruuru, “wetly, moistly”, adverb). Probably from the way that a lacquered surface glistens as if wet."

I had in the back of my mind that urushi work used to be a family business in Japan and that certain families had a genetic immunity to the poison. Does that ring any bells? I had a productive chat with Phind's AI that reinforces what this article here said, that any immunity comes from repeated exposure. See How Students in Japan Turn Urushi Trees Into Lacquer or Hyposensitization to urushiol among Japanese lacquer craftsmen for more.

Craftsmen tell of putting a drop of urushi in the baby’s first bathwater.

posted by Nelson at 7:58 AM on May 22 [1 favorite]

From Wikipedia: "The name urushiol is derived from the Japanese word for the lacquer tree, Toxicodendron vernicifluum (漆, urushi)."
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 9:54 AM on May 22 [1 favorite]

Nelson: no idea on the Japanese families/heredity thing, but urushiol allergy is in fact histamine-mediated, like any other allergy, and some people aren't reactive. (About 15% of people in North America are immune.)
posted by adrienneleigh at 1:46 PM on May 22 [1 favorite]

(Note that your AI pal is giving you dangerous information, however: only some allergies can be desensitized by repeated exposure. Many allergies actually sensitize with repeated exposure, which is why bee sting allergies are very dangerous!)
posted by adrienneleigh at 1:48 PM on May 22 [5 favorites]

And then there’s the most beautiful fountain pen in creation, the Nakaya Dorsal Fin 2 Heki Tamenuri. Sigh. Upwards of $1700.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:00 PM on May 22 [5 favorites]

“ In a town where nearly 20 percent of the population is involved with the lacquerware trade, there are probably traces of the potent oil on the door to the convenience store and the menus at my favorite izakaya.”

Absolutely hell no. I once had poison ivy *for a year* when I lived in an apartment complex that had aerialized poison ivy growing on all the oak trees and the landscapers would weed-whip and leaf-blow it all over the car and house doors, every. single. week. Just reading this is making me itch
posted by toodleydoodley at 1:51 AM on May 23 [2 favorites]

Came here just to sus out fellow fountain pen enthusiasts in the comments. I was not disappointed. 😆 🖋️
posted by hlagol at 4:37 PM on May 29 [3 favorites]