Tools and materials

There are only a handful of makers of maki-e brushes, known as "living national treasures" - guardians of important intangible cultural heritage. In particular, brushes called "honneji", which are made from mouse and armpit hair, are hard to come by.

In our studio we try to make the impossible possible.

The supreme discipline in maki-e is the depiction of fine details such as animal hair or calyxes. When these details are masterfully executed, the value of the artwork increases. Moreover, the quality of an artist or a work of art can be measured by the mastery of this very brushwork.

But it is not enough to have a perfect technique. It is equally important to use the right tools. We have a range of high quality brushes and paintbrushes for you to use in our studio.

There is a division of labour in the world of lacquer art these days, but in our workshop we will show you how to do all the work yourself, using high quality tools.