For a unique Japanese craft experience, visit the mountain town of Yamanaka Onsen. Yuki Nishihana/Courtesy of Engawa The sake bar Engawa, in the town of Yamanaka Onsen, Japan. The resort town of ...

The word urushi is said to have come from uruwashii, meaning “graceful” or “elegant,” or uruoi, “to become moist.” Sap produced by lacquer trees to repair cuts to their bark is harvested and refined ...

Craftsmen appeared very early in the history of the Yi ethnic group. Lacquerware were like a shining star among Yi utensils. The most used colors in Yi lacquerware are black, red and yellow. The ...

In a gray-tiled house along Liyang Old Street in Huangshan city, East China's Anhui province, sits an extraordinary studio. It is the workshop of Gan Erke, a master of Chinese lacquerware and ...

Lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl, known as ``najeonchilgi,'' has long been regarded as a luxurious item symbolizing wealth and nobility both in the past and present. ``Najeon'' means ...

Despite the sticky heat of the late Iwate summer, Shiho Hanadate is covered from head to toe with protective gear as she wades into the forest. Thick rubber gloves, arm guards, a heavy apron, and ...

Qumu Shiwu works on a piece of lacquerware work at her workshop in Xichang city, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. [Photo courtesy of the interviewee] Qumu Shiwu, ...

Branding expert Sohn Hye-won, 59, has a special storage in the basement of her gallery/office situated along the meandering driveway on Mt. Nam, which stands in the center of Seoul. In this space, she ...

Pokémon will be celebrating its 30th anniversary next year. That’s an impressive milestone for an entertainment franchise, but their partner in their newest creative endeavor also knows a thing or two ...

The Wajima Lacquerware Youth Association has announced a new exhibition showcase for its plate art inspired by Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV. The group will showcase the FFXIV lacquerware at the ...

Yi lacquerware are classic and natural, and the patterns on it are very closely related to our daily lives. They include scenery patterns, animal patterns, vegetation patterns and production patterns.