Tsugaru-nuri
We are introducing traditional crafts of each prefecture, and this is for Aomori where the most north prefecture in mainland Japan. It used to be cut off from the cultures of the central part of Japan at the time due to the lack of logistics. Thanks to the insular regional traits, it developed unique crafts. Tsugaru-nuri is characterized by its unique glossy paint and patterns that you will never forget once you see it. This article will introduce the historical background and present-day Tsugaru-nuri, a unique lacquerware born in Tsugaru.
Features of Tsugaru-Nuri
Tsugaru-nuri refers to lacquerware produced mainly in Hirosaki City, located in northwestern Aomori Prefecture. Hirosaki City is located in the center of the vast Tsugaru Plain and was known as the castle town of the Tsugaru Clan. Under the patronage of the Tsugaru Clan, Tsugaru-nuri lacquerware developed. Its color and simplicity has captured Japanese hearts. The beauty of this type of lacquerware, such as Echizen Lacquer or Kishu Lacquer, with vivid red is famous among Japanese people.
The main material used for Tsugaru-nuri is hiba (cypress) wood. Hiba is also the prefectural tree of Aomori Prefecture and is used in many historical buildings such as Hirosaki Castle. The Tsugaru-nuri process involves applying layers of lacquer to the hiba wood and then grinding the lacquer to create the patterns. The colorful, complex, and beautiful mottled patterns are created by this technique of layered lacquering.
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| Source: Furusato Choice Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture |
Tsugaru-nuri is known for these four techniques
There are four representative Tsugaru-nuri painting techniques: Kara-nuri, Nanako-nuri, Monshi-nuri, and Nishiki-nuri.
All four techniques are based on a technique called “kengidashi kenka-nuri,” in which dozens of coats of lacquer are polished to produce a pattern. While most lacquerware produced in other regions has a pattern painted on top of the lacquer coating, Tsugaru-nuri lacquerware repeats the process of lacquering, polishing, and polishing to create the pattern.
This technique, considered a type of “variegated lacquering,” is rare throughout Japan, and the expression of the multiple layers of lacquering gives a unique sense of depth. The karan-nuri, the most representative of Tsugaru-nuri, is also known as “Tsugaru no baka-nuri” (Tsugaru fool’s lacquering) because of the meticulousness of the technique. Let us take a look at each of the four techniques in detail.
1. Kara-nuri” is also known as “Tsugaru-no-Baka-nuri” (Tsugaru fool painting).
Kara-nuri is considered the representative of Tsugaru-nuri. Its characteristic feature is a vivid mottled pattern in which multiple colors appear to float in the air. The uneven mottled pattern is applied with a special spatula called a “trick spatula,” and then repeatedly coated with colored lacquer and polished, so that the layers of lacquer appear in a variety of colorful patterns. The process involves 48 steps and takes more than two months to complete. Because of the painstaking technique, it is also called “Tsugaru no baka-nuri” (Tsugaru fool painting).
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| Source: Tsugaru-nuri TANAKA |
2. Nanako-nuri-nuri, a technique in which patterns are expressed by the seeds of rape blossoms
Nanako-nuri is characterized by a small pattern of round dots. The pattern appears as traces of rapeseed seeds that have been sown on the surface. The seeds form a small ring pattern, which is reminiscent of fish eggs, and is therefore also called “fish eggs” or “nanako”.
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| Source: Tsugaru-nuri TANAKA |
3. Unique pattern “Monsa-nuri” is unparalleled in the world.
After the pattern is drawn in black lacquer, charcoal powder from the rice husk is sprinkled on the surface and polished to make the pattern appear. This technique is unique to Tsugaru-nuri and is considered to be one of the most distinctive of all the polishing techniques.
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| Source: Tsugaru-nuri TANAKA |
4. Nishiki-nuri is the newest and rarest type of lacquer ware.
The glamorous Nishiki-nuri lacquerware with a base of Nanashinago-nuri, which is layered with brush strokes of patterns and other techniques. It is the newest of the four techniques, but it requires a high level of skill, and only a few craftsmen are known to be able to apply it.
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| Source: Tsugaru-nuri TANAKA |
A Father and Son contributed to the development
Behind the birth of the unique Tsugaru lacquerware is the existence of a father and son. The father was Genpei Ikeda, a lacquer craftsman invited from Wakasa (Fukui Prefecture). The man who invited him was Nobumasa Tsugaru, who served as the fourth lord of the Hirosaki domain in the mid-Edo period. Nobumasa, who was known as a great lord, invited many technicians and craftsmen to foster industry in the domain. At that time, the Tokugawa Shogunate was stable, and the shoguns made the rounds of visits to the Tokugawa Shogunate, which led to the development of distribution.
The buying, selling, and distribution of goods became prosperous, and each clan was trying to protect and encourage local industries to develop. Under such circumstances, Genbei studied in Edo (present-day Tokyo) under the orders of his clan, and learned new lacquer techniques under a lacquer craftsman named Tarozaemon Aomi, who died halfway through his studies.
His son, Gentaro, succeeded him. He learned various techniques under the maki-e lacquerware master Yamanoi, and then under Aomi Tarozaemon, just like his father. After Tarozaemon Aomi’s death, Gentaro returned to Tsugaru and took the name Genbei Aomi after his master and father. In this way, father and son brought the techniques that would become the foundation for the subsequent development of Tsugaru lacquerware.
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| Source: Tsugaru-nuri TANAKA |
History of Tsugaru-nuri
◯Mid-Edo Period: Origin of Tsugaru-nuri
Tsugaru-nuri is said to have begun in the mid-Edo period, from the late 1600s to the early 1700s. It was during the reign of Nobunobu, the fourth lord of the Tsugaru domain. At that time, the Tokugawa Shogunate was stable, and the distribution system was well developed with the frequent visits to the shogun’s office. The buying, selling, and distribution of goods became prosperous, and each clan began to protect and encourage local industries. Under such circumstances, the Tsugaru Clan invited Ikeda Genbei, a lacquerware master. He went to Edo to study new techniques under Aomi Taroemon, but he died of illness in Edo the following year. His son, Gentaro, succeeded him and brought back to Tsugaru the technique of “Aomiha-nuri,” which had been handed down in the Aomi clan, from Tarozaemon.
Later, the lacquering was used for scabbards worn by warriors, and in the late Edo period, bunko, inkstone boxes, and stacked boxes were also made. The Tsugaru Clan enhanced the value of lacquerware by giving these lacquered items as gifts to the shogunate and the Imperial Court.
◯After the end of the Edo period, Tsugaru lacquerware experienced a period of prosperity and decline
With the abolition of feudal domains in the Meiji era (1868-1912), the Tsugaru domain disappeared, and Tsugaru-nuri lost its patronage. Tsugaru-nuri lost its patronage. Aomori Prefecture became the new patron of Tsugaru-nuri, and at the Vienna World Exposition in 1873, the prefecture exhibited lacquerware under the name “Tsugaru-nuri,” and the term “Tsugaru-nuri” became recognized for the first time. Tsugaru-nuri, which had gained recognition, expanded its sales channels to the masses, increased sales, and became firmly established until the Taisho period (1912-1926). However, the Great Depression of 1929 spread to Aomori Prefecture. Furthermore, the production of Tsugaru-nuri was temporarily halted due to economic restrictions during World War II.
◯From postwar to the present day
After the war, the Mumyo-kai, a group of young Tsugaru lacquerware artists, was formed to carry out “voluntary activities not influenced by their masters. This organization was later strengthened and organized into unions and associations, which led to the expansion of production, and Tsugaru-nuri came back to life and took a new step forward.
In 1955, Tsugaru-nuri won the first prize at the National Lacquer Ware Exhibition. During the period of rapid economic growth, Tsugaru-nuri, which uses luxurious lacquer, became so popular that its production could not keep up with demand. In 1975, Tsugaru-nuri was designated as a national traditional craft. This was an opportunity to improve the efficiency of production, incorporation, and the number of items produced. Since then, a wide range of lacquered products have been produced, from traditional stacked boxes and trays to smartphone cases.
