Toiletry Case with Floating Thread Twill Motif |
Sutra Box with Auspicious Floral Motif and Kalavinkas |
Makie (literally, “sprinkled picture”) refers to a decorative technique using the sap of the urushi (Rhus Verniciflua) tree and metal powder. This technique, which originated but later died out on the Asian continent, developed into several distinctive styles in Japan. The diverse range of makie techniques includes togidashi makie (burnished makie), in which a hardened sprinkled design is completely covered in lacquer, then polished down with charcoal or whetstone powder to reveal the design below; takamakie (raised makie), in which metal powder is applied to raised parts to form a design in relief; ikakeji, in which gold is densely applied to a lacquered surface to produce an effect that it is made of gold; and nashiji (“pear-skin ground”), in which metal powder is scattered over a lacquered surface and coated with a highly translucent orange-tinted lacquer to create an overall textured iridescent effect. Inlay of shells and metal plates are also used in combination with these decorative techniques. Makie is an art form that produces multiple effects from a limited set of costly materials, such as gold and silver, and that involves complex labor-intensive processes. During the early and medieval periods in Japan, only the privileged—members of the imperial court, temples and shrines, and nobility—could own objects in makie. Elegant cases for Buddhist reliquaries, miniature shrines, sutra boxes, offerings to Shinto gods, and furnishings for members of the imperial family, such as stationery and cosmetic utensils, were made with precision and formality by an exclusive group of artisans who were under the direct employment of these social elite. This section explores the history of this art form in Japan, prior to its production for export, through outstanding works from the tenth to sixteenth century.
Tea Utensil Cabinet with Chrysanthemums |
In 1543, around the time the Portuguese arrived upon the shores of Tanegashima, Japan was embroiled in constant warfare. The national unification achieved by the hegemon Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) ended the long period of social and political turbulence and ushered in the Momoyama period (1573–1615), which brought about major changes. It was during this time that the leaders of the burgeoning samurai class competed against each other to build impressive castles and temples, decorating their interiors with wall paintings in bright pigments and gold foil and architectural elements decorated in makie. Even daily tableware and furnishings were decorated in golden makie, thus instantly raising the demand for lacquerware produced with this technique. Kodaiji makie was created as a response to the intensification of the demand to appease the warlord’s taste for the ostentatious. Named after Kodai-ji Temple, which has the finest examples of this style, Kodaiji makie is distinguished by its ability to produce dramatic effects by drawing expressive designs using basic, time-saving techniques. Its high contrast between black and gold has been created through the incorporation of hiramakie (flat makie), in which simply gold powder is sprinkled over a black lacquered surface, e-nashiji (pictorial pear-skin ground), in which the “pear-skin” decoration acts as a design element in sections, and harigaki (needle drawing), in which details are etched with a sharp needle-like tool onto the lacquered surface before it dries. It appears that during the Momoyama period the lacquer artisans who once specialized in urushi-e (lacquer painting, using colored lacquer) also began to produce makie. At the same time, the independence and establishment of the artisans, apart from the elite groups they once served, advanced. In this way, makie production also came to be carried out on an unprecedented scale. The Europeans, who came to Japan, beheld this bold and opulent expression of the Momoyama period and were enraptured by these resplendent objects, which they saw for the first time.
Sake Ewer with Chrysanthemum Sprays and Paulownia Crests |
Kings on Horseback |
 Folding Lectern with IHS Insignia and Linked Hexagons |
Retable with Birds and Flowers (Containing Virgin Mary and Christ Child) |
From the mid-sixteenth century on, European missionaries hoping to propagate Christianity and traders dreaming to make a quick fortune successively arrived upon the shores of Japan. The Japanese called these people Nanbanjin (“Southern Barbarians”). While the Europeans introduced new cultural artifacts and products to Japan, they were also captivated by the beauty of makie and commissioned various works in makie, such as Christian liturgical utensils and Western furniture, which were completely different from traditional Japanese furnishings. They took these commissioned works back to their own country or imported them to other countries, thus emerged Nanban shikki, or Nanban lacquerware. Among the ritual utensils that the Europeans commissioned included portable altars with paintings of the crucifixion of Christ or the Virgin Mary, pyxes used in the Eucharist, and bookstands for the Bible. Typical examples of European furniture consisted of cabinets, which were used as desks with fall-front panels, and chests with semicylindrical lids. The main characteristic of these luxury commodities was the combination of gold hiramakie and mother-of-pearl inlay on a black-lacquered surface with designs that covered the entire surface of an object. Some examples incorporated ray skin or were completely covered in shells. The Europeans, however, did not only commission furnishings to be produced in Japan. At each calling port, they ordered Western-style furniture and religious utensils to be made in the decorative techniques of the respective region. Hence, although varying skills and styles from each country were employed to decorate these products, the types of objects that were commissioned were essentially the same. Nanban shikki, an early example of Japanese lacquerware made for export, represents such luxury merchandise that was standardized for international trade and is truly a product from the Age of Exploration.
 Commode with Pavilions in Landscape |
 Pair of Mounted Potpourri Jars with Pavilions in Landscape |
The national unifier Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) and his successor Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616) sought to strengthen direct trade with various European countries. They had exchanges with the Spanish colonial occupation in the Philippines and dispatched envoys to the then-Spanish territory of Mexico. However, antagonism between competing groups of Christian missionaries and market speculation by European traders resulted in the missionaries being suspected of acting as minions for countries plotting to invade Japan. Thus, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Japanese government took drastic measures to prohibit Christianity, deport the Spaniards and Portuguese, and bar overseas Japanese from returning to Japan. Moreover, as a result of the English losing to the Dutch in their trade rivalry, only Dutch and Chinese ships were given permission to officially enter Japanese ports. This policy by the Tokugawa government awarded the Dutch, among the Europeans, a monopoly over direct trade with Japan. In time, these political changes affected the style of lacquerware produced for export. The cabinet with its drop-down panel was replaced by a cabinet with a pair of side-hung doors, and the semicylindrical lid of the chest was replaced by a flat lid. The heavy use of mother-of-pearl inlay decreased, while pictorial designs with large open spaces came to be prevalent. In addition to hiramakie, takamakie (raised makie), which produces a relief effect on the lacquered surface, came to be frequently used, and gold designs on pure black background became increasingly prominent. This new style, which replaced Nanban lacquerware, came to be called Komo shikki (“red-hair” or Dutch lacquerware). With the creation of Komo lacquerware, the popularity of makie in the West grew ever larger. The luster and stateliness of black lacquer, which could not be reproduced with Western paints, and the brilliant gold design, imbued with a mood of exoticism, represented opulent luxury items from the faraway East. Works in Japanese makie did not merely serve decorative purposes for the interior; they symbolized wealth and power. From around this period, European craftsmen began producing Baroque and Rococo furniture fitted with Japanese works in makie.
Pair of Ewers with Pavilions in Landscape |
Secretary Desk (Secrétaire en dos d'âne) with Chinese Children |
Due to the fascination with the East, which resulted in the vogue of chinoiserie, a taste for things Asian, makie was made part of the interior décor for European palaces and castles in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. The Europeans of the time, however, did not differentiate for the most part whether an object came from China, India, or Japan. Makie was called “japan” in England, “Chinese lacquer” in France, and “Indian lacquer art” in Germany—indicating that geographical distinctions were largely considered unimportant. The Europeans added their own utopian ideals and created their own images of what they conceived to be an unknown East. The more unusual an object from the East was in Europe, the more enthusiastically it was received. Desire with curiosity and aspiration were the driving forces behind the craze for chinoiserie. Later, attempts to imitate the effects of makie using varnish came to be made in Europe. In France and Germany, court artisans emerged and skillfully reproduced takamakie, using varnish to create imitations known as japanning. The taste for Eastern commodities did not simply mean the passive reception of Asian culture and objects but also involved the incorporation of these cultural products into Europe’s own tradition. Moreover, they commissioned works fashioned after their own perceptions of the East, which in turn transformed decorative styles that were produced in Asia. Works imported from the East became the base for chinoiserie motifs, whose popularity then determined the style of objects that came to be exported from the East.
 Hen-shaped
Tiered Box |
 Peach-shaped
Incense Container |
The French queen Marie Antoinette’s (1755–1793) makie collection is the largest and finest in Europe. Her collection not only consisted of small lacquered objects made for export but also refined pieces that were in demand by the Japanese. In Japan, until the early Edo period (early to mid-seventeenth century), all works in makie were based on commission. However, at the end of the seventeenth century, as the merchant classes’ living standards rose dramatically, makie came to be speculated for the market at large and sold in Kyoto lacquer shops for domestic consumers. Although these works were still expensive specialized commodities aimed at an elite group, the establishment of such a market reveals that the society of the time was remarkably affluent. Today, the core of makie collections in Japan consists of works that were made to order. Although Edo-period makie produced for the general domestic market have been included among these works, most of these have been thought to date to the nineteenth century or later. Similar works in overseas collections, starting with Marie Antoinette’s small lacquered objects, however, have revealed the existence of makie that were sold in town during the mid-Edo period. Hence, the major European collections have acted as a kind of time capsule for objects that were sold in Kyoto lacquer shops.
Sumiaka-shaped Incense Container with Plum Blossoms |
The absolute monarchy in Europe met with demise by the mid-nineteenth century. Much of the fortunes of the royalty and titled nobility were dispersed through auctions. Concurrently, in Japan, the collapse of the Tokugawa government led to a sharp decline in domestic demand for makie and the loss of employment for many makie artisans. However, some artisans turned to producing lacquerware for export as a means of survival. As major cities throughout the world successively held world fairs, Japanese makie sold in large numbers. The success at the world fairs was not only because of the efforts the Japanese made to survive the turmoils of the Meiji Restoration after the fall of the Tokugawa government nor of the effective command of the new Meiji government but due to the 300-year-old history of exporting lacquerware and devising innovations for international trade. In England, where the Industrial Revolution began, the newly emerged bourgeoisie took to makie as exemplified by the taste for the East from the age of the absolute monarchy. They purchased not only works exhibited at the world fairs, but also seventeenth and eighteenth-century lacquerware formerly owned by exiled aristocrats, indicating that Japonisme, the craze for things Japanese, had not just suddenly occurred but rather was an extension of chinoiserie. Similar trends could be seen from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century in other parts of Europe and in the United States, which also underwent industrialization. For this new clientele, amazingly detailed works that incorporated innovative techniques came to be exported. Even today, makie is used to decorate the interiors of houses for the wealthy and in upscale boutiques. While responding to Western tastes for Asia, which have transcended time, these works—as a luxurious form of decorative art—continue to evoke the images of Japan.
Title |
Export Lacquer: Reflection of the West in Black and Gold Makie |
Period |
October 18-December 7,2008 |
Closed |
Monday(except November 3 and 24), November 4 and 25. |
Venue |
527 Chayamachi, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan 605-0931 |
Access |
<<Via JR or Subway>> <<Via Keihan Railway>> <<Via Hankyu Railway>>  |
Opening Hours |
9:30-18:00 (until 20:00 on Friday) |
General Inquiries |
Kyoto National Museum |
Organized by |
Kyoto National Museum The Yomiuri Shimbun, Osaka NHK Kyoto Station |
With the Sponsorship of |
Iwatani Corporation Osaka University of Arts Kinden Corporation Shimizu Corporation Daiwa House Industry Co.,Ltd. DAIWABO Information System Co.,Ltd. Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co.,Ltd. Non-Destructive Inspection Co.,Ltd. |
Toshiba International Foundation |
|
With the assistance of |
Japan Airlines |
Admission
*Admission is free for visitors with disabilities and one accompanying guest. Please bring the disability certificate. *Advance tickets are available from July 26 at Ticket PIA [P-Code 688-103], Lawson ticket[L-Code 51331], E-plus etc. |
Title |
Export Lacquer: Reflection of the West in Black and Gold Makie |
Period |
December 23,2008-January 26,2009 |
Closed |
Tuesday(except December 23,2008). January 1,2009. |
Venue |
Tokyo Midtown Gardenside 9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8643, Japan |
Access |
Direct connection from Exit 8 of Roppongi station on the Toei Oedo Line and the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line via underground walk way. 3 minutes walk from Exit3 of Nogizaka station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line.  |
Opening Hours |
[Sunday,Monday and December 31,2008] 10:00-18:00 [Wednesday to Saturday. Decenber 23,2008 and January 11,2009] 10:00-20:00 Last entry:30 minutes before closing. |
General Inquiries |
Suntory Museum of Art |
Organized by |
Suntory Museum of Art The Yomiuri Shimbun |
Co-organized by |
NHK |
With the Sponsorship of |
Osaka University of Arts Daiwa House Industry Co.,Ltd. Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co.,Ltd. Non-Destructive Inspection Co.,Ltd. |
Toshiba International Foundation |
|
With the assistance of |
Japan Airlines |
Admission
*Admission is free for junior high school students and children under twelve. *Admission is free for visitors with disabilities and one accompanying guest. Please bring the disability certificate. *Advance tickets are available from September 1 to December 22 at Ticket PIA[P-code 688-262], Lawson ticket [L-code 36775], E-plus etc. |
Japanese lacquerware decorated in makie (sprinkled metal design) was exported to Europe since its discovery by Europeans in the Age of Exploration on through the period of Japanese national isolation. European royalty and nobility, in the likes of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa, prized these objects as works of art from faraway Asia and decorated their palaces and castles with these treasures. Research on Japanese export lacquerware has rapidly expanded in the last ten years. Research in this area has also diversified to include the placement of export lacquerware in Japanese art history, the identification of export routes centered around trade within Asia, the discovery of lacquerware in European castles, and the reception of export lacquerware in European court culture and its influence on Western art. This symposium presents three leading scholars of Japanese export lacquerware. They will discuss the various forms that Japanese makie took in Europe, examine why it gained such popularity, and trace its dynamic history.
Title |
Japanese Export Lacquer: 400 Years of East-West Cultural Exchange |
Date |
Saturday, November 8, 2008 |
Time |
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
Venue |
Kyoto International Conference Center, Annex Hall Free Admission |
Program |
Section I: Keynote speakersHidaka Kaoru (Professor, National Museum of Japanese History) Cynthia Vialle (Researcher, Institute for the History of European Expansion, Universiteit Leiden) Filip Suchomel (Prorektor Vice-President, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, Prague) Section II: Panel DiscussionHidaka Kaoru Cynthia Vialle Filip Suchomel Nagashima Meiko (Curator, Kyoto Naitonal Museum) M.C.: Kato Hiroshi (Professor, Department of Cultural Properties, Faculty of Letters, Tsurumi University) |
How to apply |
Send a self-addressed return postcard with your name, address, age, occupation, and phone number to the address below. Applications will be processed after October 1, 2008 on a first-come, first-serve basis. Kyoto National Museum 527 Chayamachi Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0931 Attn: International Symposium Committee |
Inquiries and reservations can also be made to via our online Suggestion Box (Press “Please feel free to send us your questions, comments, and/or suggestions.”). To make your reservation, include your name, address, age, occupation, and phone number/email and write “Attn: International Symposium Committee” in the title field.
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