A
Makie Master Named Nagata Yuji
If you ever come to the Kyoto National Museum,
look for makie in Room 15 (Lacquerware), on the 2nd Floor of the New
Exhibition Hall. Have you ever heard of the profession
of "maki'e master?" I bet you have not. These
days, even in Japan, the number of maki'e masters has dwindled down
to only a handful.
In the Edo Period (1600-1867), however, there were many maki'e masters
in Japan. Like "painting masters" (artists), "Buddha
masters" (sculptors), and others, maki'e masters were a type
of professional artisan. These craftspeople made their living by
decorating the implements used in daily life with beautiful maki'e
designs.
By now, you are probably wondering, "What on earth is maki'e?!"
Well, in order to understand maki'e, you first must understand what
lacquerware is! You may know already that lacquer comes from the
sap of a tree. When this sap is painted onto wooden dishes or other
things, it hardens into a shiny, smooth, and very strong surface.
This is lacquerware. Lacquerware was made in Japan as far back as
the Jomon Period (30,000 B.C. - 200 A.D.). The durable, glossy surface
of lacquerware has been loved by the Japanese since ancient times!
Over time, however, our Japanese ancestors began to decorate the
lacquerware with gold and silver powder. This kind of decoration
took advantage of another good quality of lacquerware, its stickiness!
If artisans carved or inlaid designs into a piece of lacquerware
and then sprinkled gold or silver powder onto the wet surface, these
designs would become permanently affixed to the piece when it dried.
This is the art of maki'e!
Maki'e began in the Heian Period, when it was used to create important
Buddhist and Shinto implements and articles used in the daily life
of aristocrats and samurai families. By the Edo Period, the art
of maki'e became well-known across Japanese society, and maki'e
articles were used widely by the wealthy merchant and artisan classes.
With this, new maki'e masters began appearing in great numbers,
especially in the capital of Edo (Tokyo).
One of these maki'e masters was named Nagata Yuji. Old books from
the time, such as The History of Maki'e Masters (Maki'e-shi
Den) and The History of Lacquerware Masters(Nu-shi Den)
tell that Yuji was a native of Kyoto who was renown as a master
of his craft. He especially admired the Rinpa School style
of Ogata Korin (1658-1716), one of the most prominent and popular
maki'e masters of the Edo Period. However, Korin had already died
by the time Yuji came on the scene, so he was not able to study
with Korin personally. Instead, say the old books, Yuji studied
Korin's masterpieces and adapted their best traits into his own
works. In fact Yuji admired Korin so much that for his artists name,
he chose the name Seiseishi, which means "Child (or Disciple)
of Seisei." As "Seisei" was another name for Korin,
the name Seiseishi makes Yuji sound like Korin's direct disciple!
Inlaid Maki'e Paper Box
with Black Pine Tree and Deer Design (Outer Cover)
by Nagata Yuji
Edo Period, 18th Century
41.2 x 31.2 x 14.1 cm
Kyoto National Museum
This paper box with a design of a deer bears the seal of Seiseishi,
as does the matching inkstone box. But Nagata Yuji did not confine
his works to writing boxes like these--he also made layered food
boxes, sake cups and other kinds of dishes, all decorated with charming
maki'e designs. He always stamped his creations with a seal of "Seiseishi,
Nagata Yuji." He must have had a lot of confidence in his work!
This Rinpa style of maki'e that Yuji was so fond of was popular
not only in Japan. When such maki'e pieces were entered in World
Expositions, held in Europe from the Late Edo to the Meiji Periods,
they became extremely popular among Europeans as well! Luxurious
Rinpa maki'e, inlayed with polished mother-of-pearl and lead was
an art form that crossed not only national barriers, but also the
cultural gulf between East and West.!
Inlaid Maki'e Inkstone Box
with Black Pine Tree and Deer Design
by Nagata Yuji
Edo Period, 18th Century
24.8 x 19.8 x 5.2 cm
Kyoto National Museum
I asked in the beginning whether you know of the profession of maki'e
master, but in reality very little is actually know about the maki'e
masters of the Edo Period. We know little about this master, except
that he made maki'e from around 1711-1736. After that, however,
when he had grown older, Nagata Yuji moved from his hometown of
Kyoto to the capital, in Edo (Tokyo). There he took up a new profession:
instead of being a maki'e master, he became a master of the Japanese
tea ceremony! A book from the day, called The History of Lacquerware
of the East (Toyo Shikko-shi), states that Yuji lived to be over
eighty years of age
We are still in the dark about the lives of most Edo Period maki'e
masters. I hope future generations of scholars will discover new
information about these artisans and their works! Maybe someday
you can help to shed light on the maki'e masters of the Edo Period!
Text by Akio Haino, Department of Applied Arts
Illustrations by Satoshi Ichida, Department of Public Relations
English Translation by Melissa M. Rinne, Department of Archives
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