Japanese lacquerware

thumb|Repair work (right) on Mishima ware -type tea bowl with kintsugi gold lacquer, 16th century thumb|Small repair (top) on Nabeshima ware dish with [[hollyhock design, over-glaze enamel, 18th century, Edo period]]

thumb| with the characters for longevity and good fortune and the "Seven Lucky Treasures" on checkerboard ground, Edo period, 18th century, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]

thumb| thumb| enlargement is a Japanese lacquer decoration technique in which pictures, patterns, and letters are drawn with lacquer on the surface of lacquerware, and then metal powder such as gold or silver is sprinkled and fixed on the surface of the lacquerware. The origin of the term maki-e is a compound word of maki meaning "sprinkling" and e meaning "picture" or "design". The term can also be used to refer to lacquerware made with this decorative technique. The term first appeared in the Heian period.

Japanese craft using lacquer to coat objects

thumb|A larger Edo period suzuri-bako depicting eight bridges and iris, lacquerware and mother-of-pearl, attributed to [[Ogata Kōrin (National Treasure)]] thumb|Open box with writing implements inside such as brushes, inkstone, water container, and knife

thumb|Nishimura Shigenobu, Shōki and Girl, c. 1720s. Woodblock print with hand-coloring and lacquer (urushi). [[Hosoban. 13 in. x 5 5/8 in.]] thumb|Okumura Toshinobu (active 1717–1750), 'Young Lovers by Mount Fuji', About 1720, urushi-e (lacquer print) V&A Museum no. E.1419-1898

thumb|-style writing box, Nagasaki, 1800–1850, wood covered with black lacquer and inlaid with flowers in under-painted mother-of-pearl shell. thumb|Inlaid paper box with "wheels in flow" () design, National Treasure (Japan)|National Treasure, [[Heian period, 11–12th century, Tokyo National Museum]] thumb|Inlaid writing box with "Eight Bridges" () design, by Ogata Kōrin, National Treasure, [[Edo period, 18th century. The flowers are abalone shell inlays, Tokyo National Museum]] thumb|, Design of minute patterns in mother-of-pearl inlay, Somada school characterized by a combination of and techn

thumb|Wajima-nuri pieces Wajima-nuri (輪島塗) is a type of Japanese lacquerware from Wajima, Ishikawa. Wajima-nuri represents a form and style of lacquerware which is distinct from other Japanese lacquerware. The main distinguishing feature of Wajima-nuri is the durable undercoating achieved by the applying multiple layers of urushi mixed with powdered diatomaceous earth (ji-no-ko) onto delicate zelkova wooden substrates.

thumb|An example of Kamakura-bori thumb|Enlargement showing how polishing reveals layers is a form of lacquerware from Kamakura, Japan. It is made by carving patterns in wood, then lacquering it with layers of color. It is then polished.