Kawatsura Lacquerware

Kawatsura is one of the few places left in Japan where this complex, centuries-old traditional Japanese craft remains. To create lacquerware, skilled artisans combine woodcraft with urushiol to produce beautiful, glossy pieces that are also highly resilient.

Each piece of lacquerware has been passed through the hands of numerous master artisans, every one of which is a specialist at each stage of the process. Incredibly, the production of a single product takes between six months and a year to complete.