茨城県は国産漆の第2位の生産量を誇り、江戸時代に水戸藩が漆の木の植栽を奨励したことにより、北西部に位置する大子町と常陸大宮市で古くから生産されています。今まで茨城県は樹液としての漆の産地で大きな漆器の産地ではありませんでしたが、2010年に大子漆八溝塗器而庵を立ち上げた辻徹氏は100年先に続く産地を作っていきたいと語ります。

茨城県で漆芸の人間国宝に指定された、大西勲氏の作品、日本三大春慶塗の一つ、粟野春慶塗の作品などとともに作品をご紹介します。

The Elegant World of Urushi Lacquerware — Exploring Daigo Urushi / Yamizo Lacquer

Ibaraki Prefecture is the second-largest producer of domestically sourced urushi (Japanese lacquer). Since the Edo period, the Mito Domain encouraged the cultivation of lacquer trees, and as a result, urushi has long been produced in Daigo Town and Hitachi-Ōmiya City in the northwestern part of the prefecture. Until recently, Ibaraki was known primarily as a production area for lacquer sap rather than a major lacquerware-producing region. However, Mr. Tōru Tsuji, who founded Daigo Urushi Yamizo-nuri Kinji-an in 2010, expresses his desire to build a lacquerware tradition that will endure for the next 100 years.

This exhibition presents works by Isao Ōnishi, a Living National Treasure in the field of urushi arts from Ibaraki, as well as pieces of Awano Shunkei-nuri, one of Japan’s three major styles of Shunkei lacquerware, alongside other exemplary lacquer works.