WASHINGTON—Stuffed Super Mario toys and Wajima-nuri lacquerware are among the gifts that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida brought to U.S. President Joe Biden for his state visit. On the afternoon of April ...

The Wajima Lacquerware Youth Association has announced a new exhibition showcase for its plate art inspired by Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV. The group will showcase the FFXIV lacquerware at the ...

Regenerating interest.

The word urushi is said to have come from uruwashii, meaning “graceful” or “elegant,” or uruoi, “to become moist.” Sap produced by lacquer trees to repair cuts to their bark is harvested and refined ...

Despite the sticky heat of the late Iwate summer, Shiho Hanadate is covered from head to toe with protective gear as she wades into the forest. Thick rubber gloves, arm guards, a heavy apron, and ...

Craftsmen appeared very early in the history of the Yi ethnic group. Lacquerware were like a shining star among Yi utensils. The most used colors in Yi lacquerware are black, red and yellow. The ...

Using resin sourced from grasses, trees and other non-edible plants, Japanese technology giant NEC Corp. has developed a bioplastic that features the famous "urushi black" hue of the country's ...

Branding expert Sohn Hye-won, 59, has a special storage in the basement of her gallery/office situated along the meandering driveway on Mt. Nam, which stands in the center of Seoul. In this space, she ...

While ceramic dishes and metal cutlery are standard fare, there’s something very satisfying about having a bowl that will grow and change as you do. While there are scores of different traditional ...

Lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl, known as ``najeonchilgi,'' has long been regarded as a luxurious item symbolizing wealth and nobility both in the past and present. ``Najeon'' means ...

In a gray-tiled house along Liyang Old Street in Huangshan city, East China's Anhui province, sits an extraordinary studio. It is the workshop of Gan Erke, a master of Chinese lacquerware and ...