The new luminosity of lacquerware

“The sap harvested for lacquer is like the blood of a tree. It is a treasure from nature,” says fourth-generation lacquer maker Takuya Tsutsumi. He’s on a mission to revive the ancient craft in Japan. Since taking over his 116-year-old family business two decades ago, Tsutsumi has been reimagining new ways in which the eco-friendly finish can be used: he’s crafted lacquer-coated wooden surfboards and skateboards, and collaborated with BMX Flatland Rider champion Yohei Uchino on a lacquer-covered bike.

Natural lacquer has been used as a protective coating and adhesive as far back as the Warring States period (475-221BC) in China. Prized for its appealing lustre and durability – it is resilient to water, acids and heat – it was historically applied to functional, decorative and ceremonial items, from Buddhist statues and armour to screens and tableware. 

Over time, the craft spread from China to other parts of Asia and new techniques were developed, each demanding patience and precision. SOIL, a Hong Kong-based gallery dedicated to lacquer art, showcases the variety of techniques that exist within the discipline such as maki-e, the sprinkling of gold or silver powder into wet lacquer, and qishan, which is mending broken ceramics with lacquer. Chinese painter Hong Yidong has adapted the raden technique of intricately inlaying lacquer with mother-of-pearl to create a “crackling” effect with eggshell on his pottery. “These techniques highlight the versatility of lacquer art and reflect refined lifestyles in Asian culture,” says SOIL founder Susanna Pang. 

Only 200g of resin can be tapped from a single tree

While interest is gradually increasing across Asia, Pang says the craft has been in danger of becoming an almost forgotten art form, overshadowed by contemporary mediums in an age of mass-production. Over the past 40 years in Japan, consumption of lacquer has significantly declined from 500 tonnes to less than 23 tonnes – only 5 per cent of which is produced in the country. Tsutsumi’s Kyoto-based business, Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi, is responsible for purchasing the majority of the raw sap produced in Japan, which it refines for the use of craftspeople and the restoration of temples and shrines.

The resin is extracted from mature lacquer trees native to east Asia. The sap is harvested by making horizontal cuts in the trunks and collecting the resin secreted from the tree as a way of healing itself. Only 200g can be tapped from a single tree, making it a valuable commodity. In Tsutsumi’s workshop, the raw sap is refined through a labour-intensive process of filtering with cotton, stirring and heating, taking around eight hours to complete. 

Japanese artist and 2019 Loewe Craft prize finalist Mayu Nakata employs a painstaking technique called kinma, which involves carving patterns into her vessels and inlaying colours within the engravings, which are then polished to a shine. “Not only is Nakata’s technique impressive in a genre that has long been neglected due to its extreme difficulty, but so is her slick ability to create minimal forms that accentuate the beauty of both her vivid colours and captivating patterns,” notes Wahei Aoyama, founder of Tokyo gallery A Lighthouse called Kanata, which exhibits her work.

Lacquer sap is toxic and can cause rashes when in contact with skin. For Seoul-based artist Ok Kim, whose chromatic pieces have been shown at Design Miami, the sheen and depth of colour it offers are worth the irritation. For her ongoing series of furniture, Merge, she brushes a mixture of lacquer and sand to steel forms and then alternates between painting layers of coloured lacquer and sanding, a process that takes about three months and gives the appearance of an impressionist painting. The series is inspired by a Korean custom of stacking stones to bring good fortune. “I expressed these stones in the form of a slanted cylinder and depicted their endurance through the colours of the Korean seasons,” she says. 

Lacquer Dunhuang murals on a teapot, £800, by Hong Yidong

Ok Kim Studio lacquer and metal wishing pagoda, POA

Other artisans work solely with black and red lacquer, which are coloured with iron oxides. Nobuyuki Tanaka is regarded as one of the leading Japanese lacquer artists of his generation, and uses an ancient dry-lacquer technique to create glossy jet-black sculptures that can reach more than 3m tall. “His pieces express the conceptual and physical beauty of lacquer on a grand scale,” says Aoyama. Equally large, smooth and luminous are the pieces by artist Shoko Taruma. The curved silhouettes she creates are imbued with a sense of movement, as if the lacquer were in liquid form. Her 2025 sculpture, Falling Water III, cascades off two stones like a flowing river suspended in the air. 

“This new generation of makers is pushing the boundaries of the material and creating traditions of tomorrow,” concludes Aoyama. This sentiment is echoed by Korean studio Practice, which designed a set of modern chairs and tables in the historical colours of black and vermilion, paying homage to ancient ritual vessels. “We focused on how lacquer could integrate naturally into the designs we often explore,” says the studio’s co-founder Seohu Ahn. “We believe that preserving tradition isn’t just about safeguarding the past – it’s also about discovering new possibilities for the future.”