Friends of JapanToday, I want you to learn [1] According to Hokkaido Government’s official website (in Japanese)The sap is extruded one drop at a time by cutting grooves into the tree. Apparently, only trees grown in Japan produce urushi that can withstand its climate.Ross’s line of accessories allows the wearer to truly discover urushi’s virtues.Suzanne Ross is Japan’s unofficial ambassador for urushi. Her beautiful works and strong message grab hearts both in Japan and overseas.a new word. That word is urushi.” Suzanne Ross always begins her overseas lectures this way. The word “urushi” refers to both the tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum) and its sap, which is used as a coating material that becomes strong and glossy when hardened. Due to its adhesive, preservative and, of course, aesthetic qualities, it’s been part of daily life in Japan since ancient times. Nowadays, urushi is also the generic name used to describe all wooden products coated with it. Some other Asian countries also use it, but with items made in Japan over GRASSROOTS AMBASSADOR 9,000 years ago being the oldest in the world,[1] Japan’s use is special. Also used for restoration of national treasures, urushi is one of Japan’s important traditional cultures. While still an art-school student in London, 19-year-old Ross visited an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and fell in love with a deep black and beautifully inlaid urushi inkstone box. “I want to study urushi!” an inspired Ross resolved, and she left for Japan on a one-way ticket. “I naively thought I would master it in about three months and return to England,” she recalls, but the unfathomable depths of urushi have been captivating her for more than 35 years. Among Japan’s urushi production regions, Wajima City, where Ross has studios and a gallery, has a reputation for the highest quality pieces, which are called the “Urushi no Jo-oh (Queen of Urushi).” Wajima is home to Ishikawa Prefectural Wajima Institute of Lacquer Arts, where grand masters impart the art to the next generation. Ross, a four-time graduate of the school recalls, “It was amazing to learn from national living treasures, who not only taught techniques, but also motivated us.” Due to urushi’s many complex processes, students normally choose to specialize, but Ross studied everything—an amazing feat for one person. This achievement empowered her to break out from stereotypical concepts of tradition and create original urushi of contemporary relevance. “This urushi accessory is one of my contemporary works. Each bead expresses a different quality: matte, shiny, and textured.” Other examples are a bowl decorated with lace soaked in urushi, and a plate appearing metallic because of silver powder sprinkled over the urushi, a technique called maki-e. “Urushi’s range of expression is infinite,” says Ross. “Urushi translated as is 26“Urushi: Preserving the Treasure for the World
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