Lacquer (urushi) 漆

What is Japanese lacquer (urushi)?

Urushi is the sap of the lacquer tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum); the word also names the tree itself and the finish made from it. The raw sap contains a compound called urushiol, the same family of irritant found in poison ivy. In its wet state it can cause a bad skin rash from contact or even from fumes. Lacquer does not dry the way paint dries. It cures in a warm, humid chamber over twelve to twenty-four hours, and the humidity is what drives the chemical change: urushiol polymerises into a clear, hard, waterproof film. Once that cure is complete the surface is generally safe to handle, and the rash risk that worried people while it was wet is largely gone.

Why does it cost more than a painted finish?

Because the process is slow and almost entirely done by hand, with no shortcut that keeps the result honest. Wakasa lacquerware, made around Obama City in Fukui, is documented at over sixty separate steps to finish one piece, including a decorative technique where eggshell, shell or rice husk is scattered into a wet coat and later ground back to reveal the pattern underneath. Wajima lacquerware, from the city of Wajima in Ishikawa, goes further again: production runs to more than a hundred stages, built on an undercoat mixed with jinoko, a powdered earth particular to the area, which is the reason Wajima ware is known for holding up to daily use. Both crafts also need real calendar time as well as labour, since each coat has to cure before the next one goes on. None of that scales the way a sprayed lacquer-look coating does, and the price follows.

What do we carry in lacquer?

What we stock in genuine lacquer right now is a pair of chopstick designs: Wakasa lacquer chopsticks made in a collaboration between Seikogama (a Kutani kiln) and lacquer craftspeople working in the Wakasa style from Obama City in Fukui. Each pair is natural hardwood under the lacquer coat, made entirely by one artisan. The listing runs to twelve pattern options in a twenty-one-centimetre length and twelve more in twenty-three centimetres. It is a small slice of what real urushi can be, but it is the genuine craft rather than a lacquer-look print. That alone makes it worth choosing. Browse our chopsticks to see these alongside the wood and glass options we also carry.

How do you wash lacquerware?

Hand wash it, and keep it out of the dishwasher entirely. Use a soft sponge and an ordinary mild dish soap, and avoid the abrasive side of a sponge or any cleaner with a polishing grit in it, since that will dull the surface over time. Dishwasher heat, water pressure and hot-air drying can damage a lacquer finish (cracking, clouding or peeling it) and can warp the wood core underneath. Do not leave a lacquer piece soaking, either: if the wooden core sits in water for a long stretch it can swell and the piece can deform, which is a slower version of the same problem. Store it away from direct sunlight and away from very dry or very hot spots, since both dry the wood out unevenly under the finish.

How does lacquer change with age?

It develops a patina rather than simply wearing out, and most people who use lacquerware regularly come to like that change rather than fight it. The gloss softens a little, and small marks appear where a piece has actually been used. The colour can also deepen slightly over years. That is a different thing from damage: a scratch from a metal scourer or a crack from the dishwasher does not settle into a patina, it just stays a scratch or a crack. Handled gently, a lacquer piece is built to be used for a long time, not kept behind glass.