Fukiurushi (Wiping Lacquer) is a traditional lacquer art technique where lacquer is applied to wood substrate, with excess lacquer wiped away with cloth for finishing. This technique, which creates deep luster while utilizing wood’s texture, is widely used from daily necessities to artistic works.
Its appeal lies in simple yet elegant character, with the characteristic of increasing luster with use over time. This article provides a detailed explanation of wiping lacquer’s appeal, basic techniques, historical background, and maintenance methods for long-lasting enjoyment.
Table of Contents
What is Wiping Lacquer? – Traditional Coating Technique Bringing Out Wood Substrate Beauty
Fukiurushi (Wiping Lacquer) is a traditional Japanese coating technique that brings out wood substrate character through repeatedly applying and wiping away lacquer. Rather than thickly layering like typical lacquer coating, it is characterized by finishing to show through wood grain, creating natural beauty where wood texture itself harmonizes with lacquer luster.
Historically used for tea ceremony utensils, trays, and serving tables, it is now widely applied to furniture, tableware, and interior items. It excels as a finish that utilizes lacquer’s waterproof and antibacterial properties while not preventing wood from breathing, with the appeal of “beauty that grows with use” created by craftsman sensation and time.
Origins and History – Lacquer Wisdom Sublimated from Daily Necessities to Crafts
Lacquer origins trace back to the Jomon period. From approximately 9,000 years ago, lacquer was applied to wooden products for waterproofing, preservation, and decoration, establishing the foundation of Japanese lacquer culture. Wiping lacquer is a technique born from this lacquer coating technology, a method repeating processes of thinly applying lacquer and wiping with cloth to bring out wood grain beauty.
During the Heian and Kamakura periods, lacquerware was widely used for temple fixtures, serving bowls, armor, and decorative techniques like maki-e flourished. Entering the Edo period, wiping lacquer was refined in lacquerware production areas like Wajima, Aizu, and Yamanaka, particularly in Yamanaka as “Yamanaka of wood substrate,” techniques bringing out wood grain beauty developed highly.
Particularly with the spread of tea ceremony culture, connecting with spirits valuing “beauty of utility,” wiping lacquer became an existence symbolizing “Japanese aesthetic consciousness where materials and techniques harmonize.” Even today, this philosophy continues to be inherited.
Techniques and Processes – Craftsman’s Handwork of Coating, Wiping, and Polishing
Wiping lacquer, as the name suggests, is repetition of “coating and wiping” work. First, the wood substrate surface is carefully polished, and lacquer is thinly applied.
Subsequently, excess lacquer is completely wiped away with cloth, drying in a state leaving a thin lacquer film. By repeating this process three to five times, lacquer penetrates wood ducts, increasing depth and luster.
Because lacquer viscosity and drying time change with seasons and humidity, craftsmen make subtle adjustments while assessing that day’s climate. Finally, by polishing with charcoal powder, smooth touch when traced by fingers and moist luster are born. Though simple processes, this is delicate work where slight coating amounts and wiping force influence finishing.
Finishing Characteristics – Natural Luster and Transparency Highlighting Wood Grain
Wiping lacquer’s greatest characteristic lies in natural luster utilizing wood grain. With each coating layer, transparency shining from wood substrate depths is born, with luster deepening with use.
Unlike thickly coated lacquerware, wiping lacquer is a finish enjoying aging. Even if fine scratches appear on the surface through daily use, they become character, and regularly layering lacquer revives it.
Additionally, because lacquer doesn’t prevent wood from breathing, there is little cracking or warping from humidity changes, enabling continued use over many years. Wiping lacquer is a technique possessing not only visual beauty but “aging beauty” that grows with the user.
Appeal and Contemporary Value of Wiping Lacquer
Wiping lacquer is being re-evaluated as a craft technique deeply resonating with contemporary lifestyles and values. It is a sustainable manufacturing method utilizing natural materials, not using chemical paints, achieving both high durability and beauty while minimizing environmental burden.
Furthermore, the “aging beauty” that deepens over time while being simple enriches users’ sensibilities. Wiping lacquer vessels and furniture possess unique warmth and presence unattainable in mass-produced items, gaining popularity as crafts harmonizing with contemporary living.
While inheriting traditional techniques, embodying minimal aesthetic consciousness and sustainable values represents appeal truly appropriate for current times.
Return to Natural Materials and Sustainable Crafts
Behind recent attention to wiping lacquer lies rising environmental consciousness. Lacquer is natural resin collected from lacquer trees, as renewable material having long supported Japanese people’s lives.
Unlike chemical paints, containing no harmful substances and not using organic solvents in the drying process, it represents an environmentally friendly manufacturing method. Additionally, because wiping lacquer doesn’t damage wood texture, luster increases with long use, possessing value as “craft to nurture” rather than disposable.
This is sustainable philosophy itself demanded by contemporary society. Wiping lacquer, maximally bringing out natural material power, is once again spotlighted as Japanese traditional technique coexisting with environment.
Popularity as Daily-Use Vessels and Furniture
Wiping lacquer’s appeal lies not only in beauty but also high practicality. Because lacquer excels in waterproofness and antibacterial properties, it is optimal for daily items including tableware, chopsticks, and trays. Texture fitting hands while retaining wood touch makes you feel comfort each time you use it.
In the furniture field, wiping lacquer finishes are widely adopted for tables, chairs, cutlery, and more. Matte finishes with subdued luster have good compatibility with modern interiors, popular among those preferring natural design.
Additionally, ease of repair and repainting is also valued, enabling long-lasting use. Wiping lacquer is crafts accompanying daily life, embodying the Japanese value of “deepening beauty while using.”
Japanese “Lacquer” Aesthetics as Seen from Overseas
Overseas as well, Japanese lacquerware receives high recognition as “Japanese lacquerware.” Particularly because lacquer is natural material, amidst increasing sustainable-minded consumers, Japanese lacquer culture is being redefined as “environmentally friendly luxury.”
Wiping lacquer, as a technique giving luster while leaving wood’s natural expression, has recently seen development of lacquerware and furniture fusing with Nordic design. Wiping lacquer vessels and chests bringing out wood grain beauty attract attention from overseas as Japanese traditional crafts, valued as products combining warmth and refinement.
Additionally, Japanese lacquer art works are recognized in world museums through exhibitions at institutions like Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands. Lacquer continues being transmitted worldwide not as mere coating technology but as aesthetic consciousness symbolizing harmony between nature and humans.
Wiping Lacquer Production Process and Craftsmanship
Wiping lacquer production appears at first glance to be simple process repetition, but in reality requires skilled sensation reading wood and lacquer properties and patience finishing over time. Processes are broadly divided into three stages: “wood substrate finishing,” “lacquer mixing and application,” and “wiping and drying.”
Every stage involves delicate work factoring in wood ducts, humidity, and even light reflection, with expressions differing by craftsman even using the same wood. From first coating to final glossing, this process proceeding to match wood and lacquer breathing is precisely why wiping lacquer is called “living finish.”
Wood Substrate Finishing and Base Preparation – Preparation Bringing Out Beautiful Wood Grain
Wiping lacquer process begins first with wood substrate finishing. Carefully smoothing wood surface with plane or sandpaper (approximately #120-#240), highlighting grain flow greatly changes final luster and transparency.
Particularly hard woods like zelkova, oak, and walnut are preferred as suitable materials for wiping lacquer. After polishing, wood powder and debris are carefully wiped away with dry cloth, keeping wood substrate surface clean.
Additionally, wood grain ducts require thorough lacquer penetration, with filling ducts preventing later white surfacing. Craftsmen smooth fine irregularities while confirming smoothness through wiping with cloth and hand touch.
If this base preparation is insufficient, wiping lacquer’s characteristic luster won’t emerge, making this a more important process than appears. Preparation maximally utilizing wood substrate is the first step toward beautiful wiping lacquer.
Lacquer Mixing and Application – Humidity and Hand Sensation are Decisive
In lacquer application, material and environment assessment determines everything. Used for wiping lacquer is high-transparency raw lacquer (kiurushi) or refined transparent lacquer (sukiurushi), with craftsmen subtly adjusting viscosity according to humidity and temperature.
After thinly applying lacquer to wood substrate with cloth or brush and spreading across the entire surface, excess is wiped away with soft cloth. If lacquer is left thick here, unevenness and cloudiness appear, so only fingertip and cloth-mediated sensation is reliable.
Finished works are dried overnight in an environment called “muro” (chamber) at temperature 25°C and humidity 70-80%. Rather than natural drying, the characteristic of lacquer is “hardening by absorbing moisture,” with this delicate management supporting beautiful finishing.
Wiping and Drying – Time Technology Nurturing Luster and Transparency
After drying, repeating work of applying and wiping lacquer several times allows lacquer to penetrate even into wood interior, creating deep luster. Craftsmen subtly change lacquer film thickness left with each wiping, finishing while seeking the layer where light reflection appears most beautiful.
Cloth used for wiping is breathable material like linen or cotton, moved in consistent direction to avoid leaving wipe marks. Finally, after complete drying, polishing the surface with charcoal powder reveals moist luster.
This finishing is also called “wiping lacquer’s life,” a process questioning sensation cultivated over time. Within simple repetition of coating, wiping, and drying, dialogue between material and craftsman breathes.
Wiping Lacquer Aesthetics and Presentation
Wiping lacquer is called not mere coating technique but “art manipulating light.” Thin lacquer film born through repetition of coating and wiping softly reflects light showing through wood grain, emitting deep luster with shadow.
That luminosity with depth, unlike metallic luster, makes you feel warmth seeping from inside. Additionally, comfort of touch transmitted to fingertips and color luster changing with use are also one appeal.
Wiping lacquer embodies “quiet emotion” at the foundation of Japanese aesthetic consciousness as craft not only “beautiful to see” but also “comfortable to touch” and “fitting into living.”
Depth Created by Light and Shadow – Expression of Lacquer’s “Transparent Luster”
Wiping lacquer beauty is established through dialogue of light and shadow. Layered lacquer thin film reflects light while also partially transmitting internally, creating unique luminosity where luster surfaces from wood grain depths.
This “transparent luster” is soft light expression connecting to Japanese architecture’s shoji and washi lighting, impossible to reproduce with artificial paint. Furthermore, lacquer color changes over time, with initially reddish transparency eventually deepening to amber.
That expression seeming to absorb and release light symbolizes wiping lacquer being “craft growing with time.” This luster reflecting light’s transitions represents wiping lacquer’s greatest aesthetics.
Touch Aesthetics – Warmth and Tranquility Conveyed Through Tactile Sensation
Wiping lacquer, in addition to visual beauty, has special appeal when touching by hand. As lacquer penetrates wood grain and thinly wraps the surface, sticky texture like clinging is born.
That smoothness is not glass-like coldness but “warm luster” softly fitting fingertips. With continued use, luster further increases from hand oils and friction, changing to one’s own unique character.
This is precisely proof of crafts growing with users. Additionally, it is an existence symbolizing Japanese aesthetic consciousness emphasizing touch – “tranquility in the hand.” Wiping lacquer, feeling beauty not only through vision but also through tactile sensation, is a rare technique appealing to five senses.
Staging Coloring Living – Harmony with Contemporary Interiors
In contemporary living, wiping lacquer has high affinity with natural interiors and minimal design, widely adopted for furniture, lighting, tableware, and more. Deep luster bringing out wood grain naturally blends even into Nordic oak furniture and modern spaces, harmonizing with any material.
Expression softly reflecting light under illumination emits calm presence different from metal or glass. Additionally, because color deepens through aging, it brings warmth to entire spaces with time’s flow.
Wiping lacquer is not decoration but “technique beautifully arranging living.” Its quiet luminosity creates new value in contemporary interior design as well.
Wiping Lacquer Inheritance and Future
Wiping lacquer is a technique long nurtured with woodworking culture throughout Japan. Today, lacquerware and woodworking production areas are being re-evaluated as regional brands, with craftsmen supporting tradition repeating new challenges.
In production areas like Wajima, Aizu, and Kiso, product development accompanying contemporary lifestyles progresses while utilizing local materials and climate. Additionally, movements of young lacquer artists and designers adding new sensibilities to traditional methods and transmitting wiping lacquer appeal worldwide are expanding. Wiping lacquer is now evolving toward the future not as “old crafts” but as sustainable cultural expression.
Regional Brands and Craftsmen’s Efforts (Wajima, Aizu, Kiso, etc.)
Throughout Japan, wiping lacquer has achieved unique development. In Wajima, sturdy base-making layering lacquer mixed with ji-no-ko (diatomaceous earth) is characteristic, with special technique called “Wajima-nuri wiping lacquer finish” bringing out wood grain beauty by applying wiping lacquer as finishing.
In the Aizu region, auspicious designs and diverse decorations are characteristic, with lacquerware giving warm character to daily items and furniture being established. Additionally, in the Kiso region, tradition continues for approximately 400 years from early Edo period, with wiping lacquer vessels using Kiso cypress and sawara being popular, loved as practical lacquerware that is lightweight and has good touch.
In these regions, new movements are seen where craftsmen themselves are involved in design and sales in addition to local material use and handwork inheritance. Wiping lacquer breathes as “key to local crafts” connecting regional resources, techniques, and culture.
New Wiping Lacquer Expression by Young Artists
Recently, wiping lacquer is attracting renewed attention among young artists. Movements expanding expression domains beyond traditional vessel-making to lighting, objects, architectural materials, and more are active.
Among them, artists attempting combinations with different materials are increasing, bringing out new lacquer textures through fusion with metal, glass, cloth, and more. Furthermore, experimental approaches creating wood substrate prototypes with digital modeling or 3D printing, then applying wiping lacquer over them are also progressing.
Such efforts are evolving from “tracing tradition” toward “updating tradition,” showing wiping lacquer is a universal expression method viable in contemporary art and design contexts as well.
Overseas Transmission and Prospects for Sustainable Design
Wiping lacquer receives high recognition overseas as well. Particularly in Europe, where philosophy respecting natural materials and values enjoying aging are shared, wiping lacquer’s “growing beauty” is accepted.
Japanese workshops and brands exhibit at overseas design exhibitions and trade shows, progressing collaborations with local woodworking and architectural professionals. Additionally, in sustainable design trends, wiping lacquer attracts attention as environmentally considerate finishing replacing chemical paints.
Future wiping lacquer will transcend traditional craft frameworks, becoming an existence contributing to global-scale material culture reconstruction.
To Enjoy Wiping Lacquer Long-Term – Wisdom of Maintenance and Regeneration
Wiping lacquer’s appeal lies in the point where beauty can be deepened while using. For this, daily handling methods, storage environments, and regular maintenance are indispensable.
Although lacquer is extremely tough material, it is vulnerable to ultraviolet rays, extreme dryness, and sudden temperature changes, so proper maintenance enables preserving long life. Additionally, lacquer surfaces have the characteristic where luster settles over time and can be revived through re-wiping lacquer.
In other words, wiping lacquer is simultaneously “completed work” and “work completing while using.” Here, we introduce wisdom for preserving that beauty for decades and the “culture of using with care” that Japanese people have cherished.
Daily Handling Methods and Storage Tips
The basis for long-term use of wiping lacquer products is maintaining natural conditions. After use, wipe away moisture with soft cloth, storing avoiding direct sunlight and high temperature/humidity.
For tableware, avoid dishwasher or microwave use, with hand washing in lukewarm water being ideal. Even when using detergent, protecting lacquer film luster by diluting neutral detergent and quickly rinsing.
Additionally, in overly dry locations, lacquer may become white and cloudy, so storing wooden vessels together with other wooden items to maintain humidity is good. Even if fine scratches appear on the surface, that is not deterioration but “character.” Moderate use is precisely the secret to nurturing wiping lacquer more deeply and beautifully.
Re-wiping Lacquer and Maintenance to Revive Luster
If luster dulls with long use, wiping lacquer enables “regeneration.” This is a method of restoring luster and waterproofness by having craftsmen apply new thin lacquer layer, wiping away excess, and drying through a process called “re-wiping lacquer.”
Small-scale repairs can be done at home, but when seeking uniform finishing, requesting specialized lacquer workshops is safe. Re-wiping lacquer increases surface depth by layering lacquer, making wood grain shine again.
This technique is not mere repair but can be called regeneration ritual “breathing life again.” While repair culture for leather goods and furniture is rooted in Europe, wiping lacquer is also sustainable Japanese wisdom where “value increases with long use.”
Wiping Lacquer Philosophy as “Culture of Continued Use”
Wiping lacquer’s appeal lies in the point where beauty is not completed form but nurtured by user’s hands and time. In Japanese culture, there has long been a concept of “tools to nurture,” with lacquerware being one symbol.
Luster deepens through daily use, and with addition of wear and marks, it shows unique expression existing only in the world. This is not “deterioration” but “growth,” the very relationship where people and objects accumulate time together.
Choosing wiping lacquer is not merely owning crafts but also choosing a way of living where you care for and deepen attachment in daily life. Using long, repairing, and passing down. Within that circulation, Japanese aesthetic consciousness and philosophy toward sustainable future breathe.
Conclusion
Wiping lacquer is the technique most succinctly expressing Japanese aesthetic consciousness woven by wood and lacquer. Luster transmitting light, warmth fitting hands, and character deepening with use – all of these can be called proof of people and nature living together.
Craftsman handwork continuing from ancient times harmonizes with contemporary design and sustainable philosophy, attracting attention worldwide. Furthermore, the circular culture of maintaining while using and breathing life again shows wiping lacquer is not mere traditional craft but “living philosophy continuing into the future.” Wiping lacquer is a symbol of “living beauty” that will continue to be long cherished in coming eras as well.
