Box with design in makie. “Morning glow”

Maki-e box "Gyoko" expresses the sky and sea lit by the light of dawn.
I thought of making this piece when I went to the seashore of Noto, the town next to Wajima where I live, and was amazed by the beautiful contrast of the light of dawn and the horizon early in the morning.

On the top of the box, I designed several reddish gold clouds lit by the morning sun, and expressed the silhouette of the sun peeking through the clouds with red and pink raden.
The skies painted by the morning sun to a slightly rosy color and the thin clouds floating in the sky are designed on the side of the box. The horizon is made with white raden, and gold and raden is used to express the shimmering sea and waves.

Inside the box, plovers and waves are designed to express the sea in heaven.

I receive many comments from people that see my work. I am grateful to see people interpret and feel things in their own way and look forward to sharing thoughts with those that appreciate my work.

Exhibited at The 64th Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition in 2017

• Dry lacquer

  For works of dry lacquer (kanshitsu), first a clay form is created and plaster is used to take a mold of the form. Next, repeated layers of hemp cloth and lacquer are applied to the mold until they are built up to the desired thickness. Finally, the mold is removed and additional coats of lacquer are applied to finish the piece. The hemp fibers are strengthened when the lacquer bonds with them, making dry lacquer an excellent technique for creating sturdy forms with a significant degree of freedom.

• Urushi-e

  Urushi-e (“lacquer pictures”) is a decorative technique that consists of motifs painted in colored lacquer. Urushi-e is the oldest and most fundamental decorative lacquer technique.

• Maki-e

  Maki-e (literally “sprinkled pictures”) is a representative lacquerware technique that originated in Japan around 1,200 years ago. Maki-e is done by painting lacquer motifs on the surface of a piece using a fine brush and then sprinkling gold powder onto the lacquer before it hardens, producing luxurious decorations.

• Metal sheet inlay

  Metal sheet inlay (hyōmon) is a technique that involves cutting shapes out of thin sheets of gold, silver, or other metals to create an inlay motif.

• Mother-of-pearl inlay (Raden)

  Mother-of-pearl inlay (Raden) is a decorative technique that uses the iridescent inner layer of abalone shell, turban shell, pearl oyster shell, or other mollusk shells. The technique came to Japan from China 1,300 years ago, and pieces featuring mother-of-pearl inlay are included among the artifacts at the Shōsōin Repository in Nara.