The Wajima Akebono-nuri Style of Lacquer Art
The traditional Wajima-nuri is the most prominent lacquer art form of Wajima on the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture.
Its history spans for a long time from the Heian Period (794-1185) and Muromachi Period (1333-1573).
Wajima has a harsh climate for Japan.
This creates demand for durable lacquer coating so innovation was made leading to a countless number of process from undercoating to top coating.
Wajima-nuri culture is said to have been established around the beginning of the Edo Period (1603-1868).
Since then, Wajima-nuri has become famous nationwide as an excellent lacquerware.
It takes plenty of time for artisans to acquire the Wajima-nuri technique because there are various process of it.
Therefore, the artisans of Wajima-nuri have undergone countless hours of training under the supervision of elder artisans developing a true artisan temperament which gives birth to lacquerware with superior quality.
The traditional art form of Wajima-nuri technique is designated as an important intangible cultural property by Japan.
The Akebono-nuri on this pen was applied by artisan Masanori Sumi who lives in Wajima city and has been working with Wajima-nuri for 40 years.
Gradation coating is a difficult technique among lacquer coating techniques involving creating elegance like light coming out from the darkness of lacquer ink.
This technique is manually applied to each pen individually creating profound masterpieces with one-of-a-kind accents.


Exclusive Paulownia Wood Case
Paulownia wood which makes up the box is the perfect material for storing lacquerware products.
This box is made of high quality Japanese pawlownia wood with a detailed grainy texture.
The strap is a durable braid which doesn't bend easily and is said to have been often used by historical tea master Sen no Rikyu as a tea ceremony equipment.


Lacquer Artist Masanori Sumi
40 years' experience in Wajima-nuri.
He started learning lacquer at a workshop from the mid-1970s.
He is one of the only lacquer artisans who has mastered all of the supposed over 100 Wajima-nuri production processes including prep work, base coating, intermediate coating, top coating and polishing.
He is currently active as a skilled technician of Wajima-nuri who can handle any work process.