Visit the Kyoto National Museum this fall to explore the history of makie (literally, "sprinkled picture," a decorative lacquer technique using the sap of the urushi tree and metal powder). See the Special Exhibition Hall's central gallery transform into a grand Western-style room and encounter works in makie from royal and aristocratic collections from around the world. The entire hall will be filled with lacquerware lavishly decorated in makie, including works formerly owned by Cardinal Mazarin, who groomed Louis XIV, the Sun King, and Madame de Pompadour, the influential mistress of Louis XV.     The decorative lacquer technique of makie developed into distinctive styles in Japan, and until the sixteenth century, makie adorned the furnishings of only the most privileged in society. It later came to be used on daily ware and architectural elements for the burgeoning warrior class. Around this period, the first Europeans to arrive to Japan were enraptured by these resplendent objects. They commissioned various works in this technique, such as Christian liturgical utensils and Western furniture, which were unlike anything that had previously existed in Japan, and took these objects back to their home country or imported them to other countries.     The Japanese government, however, prohibited Christianity and deported the Spaniards and Portuguese at the beginning of the seventeenth century. They barred overseas Japanese from returning to Japan and allowed only Dutch and Chinese ships to officially enter Japanese ports. Although the national isolation policy was upheld until the end of the Tokugawa government (1867), makie continued to be coveted by royalty and nobility.     Various historic figures, such as Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI, and Queen Marie Antoinette of the French Bourbon dynasty, Maria Theresa of the Austrian Habsburg family, and the German Duke of Saxony August the Strong, as well as the Qing-dynasty emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong, owned makie-decorated works. Why did makie captivate these figures? How did export lacquerware develop? How did it change over time? How were these objects cherished? And how were they preserved to this day? Based on the latest research in this field and cooperation from overseas collectors and museums, this first major makie exhibition traces the history of this Japanese art through numerous outstanding export lacquerware that will be shown for the first time as well as objects designated as National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. Works in makie will be explored through seven themes: Makie from Early to Medieval Japan, Kodaiji Makie: The Lacquerware Encountered by the Europeans, Nanban Lacquerware: Decorative Arts in the Age of Exploration, "Red-hair" Lacquerware: Makie in the Palaces of the Absolute Monarchs, The Vogue of Makie and Chinoiserie, Grand European Collections and Kyoto Lacquer Shops, and The Road Leading to World Fairs.     Created in Kyoto, makie-decorated lacquerware crossed the seas to be appreciated abroad. After a few hundred years, these resplendent objects will be making a homecoming to be exhibited at the Kyoto National Museum this autumn.