Natural Material - 本漆 Hon-urushi
Similar to our previous Chinese Urushi collections, the Kyushitsu's main component is the Raw Urushi 本漆 of Chinese lacquering art.
As its name suggests - Raw Urushi, no oil is added to the lacquer during the making process. Therefore, the initial result will come out dull at first, yet become glossier after years of usage.
Since the nature of urushi is dark, in order to make the art visible, meticulous craftsmanship and years of experience are required to carefully apply lacquer in very thin layers to display the beauty of art.
There is a Japanese proverb saying: 経年変化 means with age comes wisdom. And the same applies to the traditional aesthetic philosophy. The more it ages, the deeper, glossier it gets, revealing the true beauty of Chinese lacquer underneath.
Despite the semi-matt first look resulting from the characteristics of Raw Urushi, the durable material allows you to enjoy the aging process as the pen's appearance grows more and more lustrous.
two different arts, two different looks
Raden
A different technique is apllied on Raden version:
Raw Urushi is used for the final fixate layer instead of transparent Urushi.
The thin cuts of Raden inlay are placed slightly below the lacquer layer and thinner final layers of Urushi are applied to allow Raden to be seen through the color of Raw Urushi, which is darker than the transparent one. Only a high level of craftsmanship is practiced to produce consistent intensity in showing Raden despite the multiple layers of lacquer.
After the craftsman's patient hand polishing, the colored raw lacquer on the surface is polished to the same texture as transparent lacquer, so that the Raden fragments underneath and the art are clearly visible. This is believed to be a test of a craftsman's patience and skill to accomplish a final artwork.
The Kyushitsu - Raden design comes in two shapes:
Dream Pen and Sekai.
Goldfish
Requires exquisite skills in handling details both in applying the Urushi and object painting. The gradation color of Goldfish gives it a lifelike depth visual by using only Urushi paint.