If you are not familiar with Japanese crafts. This is for you.
Wouldn’t you think it is quite important for you to know difference between “silk” and “rayon” ?
One is natural material and the other is synthetic. Each fabric has different functions so you can not say one is better than the other. However, one is more luxury than the other in general. So we pick the items with these information in our head. “Which is more suitable for me and the occasion? Also possibly within my budget.”
You probably laughed reading the first paragraph. You might have thought “Who can not tell if it is silk or rayon !?”
But, what would if it were Traditional Crafts or Art of foreign country?
Can you tell the material and judge your purchase with the right knowledge?
The picture shown below is one of my favorite stir stick. Isn’t it beautiful? Would you buy this? If yes, Why?
The blue stick in the picture above is a piece of wood painted with something. Can you tell what?
It is painted with URUSHI the Japanese lacquer. The paint is made from Japanese sumac (lacquer) tree. When it is liquid, it is poison for some people that some gets bad allergic reaction.
However, once it is solidified, it is no harm for human. It gets as hard as 160-180 N/mm2. The material painted with URUSHI gets extra durability. Some of wooden boxes are made a hundred years ago are still brought to craftsmen to restore its tipped parts or faded color, in Japan. It means if you treat the item correctly, it lasts generations after generations.
WHen, URUSHI is solidified, it becomes resistant to heat and waterproof. Therefore, for the longest time, Japanese people used URUSHI painted tableware especially for soup bowls and chopsticks.
I fell in love with this stir stick, not because its color but also functions of URUSHI. Micro plastic has been one of latest issues for our planet and our body. When I met this URUSHI stir stick, I thought this could be one of my solution.
For your better choice, we introduce and explain crafts and culture behind them here.
“about Japanese crafts and culture” is one of our news & blog category. In this category, we try our best to provide information about traditional crafts we curate.
Hoping that not only our articles help you to judge when you are shopping, but also it gives you “a conversational topic” when you are socializing.
Now you can tell your company about function of URUSHI-wear at fine Japanese restaurants which uses them.
Thank you for reading till the end. If you liked what you have just read, please subscribe our news letter.
【日本語あり】Intern Reward Trip to Kagawa, Japan
Finally!! We get together with our former intern Ly and give her a intern reward trip in Kagawa, Japan!
やっと！！元インターンのリーさんに直接会うことができました。そして彼女のごインターン褒美旅行のはじまり！
URUSHI 101: The ARTIFACT SHOWS THE BEST CHARACTER of URUSHI
SHIKKI or Japanese lacquerware is one of the best-known Japanese Traditional Crafts. But do we really know about the material? SHIKKI is a product that is painted or/and worked with URUSHI. In this article, we cover the super basics of URUSHI and a great example of how URUSHI was used. Once you know these, you will know about URUSHI material more than some Japanese people!
HARIKO TORA and THE YEAR OF TIGER – the local traditional craft of Kagawa, Japan –
The year 2022 is the year of TIGER! So, we would like to introduce one local traditional craft which to do with tiger and an item that you can paint your own tiger. This is an archive of our audio content. This is 3 parts series. Each audio contents are about 3 minutes 30 second.
When is the best hour to visit Shrines & Why? Travel Tip Japan
When you travel to Japan, visiting Shrines and Temples is a great experience. You get to see buildings and cultures unique to Japan there. Many guide books and travel blogs list some shrines and temples as “must visit” places. So, it won’t be hard for you to find “WHERE” to visit. But how about “WHEN”?
In this article, we will tell you about the following:
+What is a Shrine?
+Difference between Shrines and Temples (How to spot Shrines)
+3 Things You Shouldn’t Do at Shrines
+The Best Hours to Visit Shrines and The Reasons
+The Way To Spend Time at Shrines ~Elementary~
+The Way to Spend Time at Shrines ~Intermediate~
+The Shrine must to visit in Kagawa, Shikoku, Japan
TOUJI(冬至) [more than 4 seasons]
Guess, one Japanese custom that people do on Winter Solstice Day. Do you like taking a hot long bath? Do you like citrus fruits? Then you might like this custom.
