Ryukyuan lacquerware
Encyclopedia
Ryukyuan lacquerware is one of the chief artistic products of the Ryukyu Islands
(today Okinawa Prefecture
of Japan
), and represents a form and style of lacquerware
which is distinct from that of the surrounding cultures. Though distinct in its own ways, it is strongly influenced by Chinese
, Japanese
, and Southeast Asian modes.
Ryukyuan lacquerware is distinguished by the use of inlaid seashells and various native Ryukyuan artistic motifs, and a strong tendency towards red lacquer, which is rather less common in the rest of Japan.
is not native to Okinawa, the key material needed to produce lacquerware could only be obtained by the Ryukyuans through trade. Though the islands were involved with trade with Japan and the Asian mainland for many centuries, it is generally believed that the presence and production of lacquerware in Ryukyu only began to any significant extent in the late 14th or early 15th centuries. Formal tributary
relations with China began in 1372, and in 1427, the Xuande Emperor
famously bestowed upon Hashi
, King of Ryukyu
, the honorary family name Shō (Shang), along with a lacquer tablet inscribed with the characters for Chūzan
, and a number of other lavish gifts, including lacquerwares and formal court robes. This famous lacquer tablet was installed over the entrance to Shuri Castle
, where it remained until the mid-20th century.
Ryukyu enjoyed a booming trade with Southeast Asia and Korea, and traded many goods from these countries with China, either as tributary gifts or as regular trade goods. Beginning in 1609, when Ryukyu was invaded by Japan's Satsuma Domain, its trade with Southeast Asia and Korea all but came to an end, replaced by commerce with Satsuma. For roughly five hundred years, from 1372 until the mid-19th century, a small number of Ryukyuans resided in Fuzhou
and Beijing
at any given time, studying academic classics and various arts as well. The community of scholars in Kumemura
, on Okinawa, also included a number of skilled artists and craftsmen. Thus, given the changes in Ryukyu's relationships with foreign countries over its history, it is easy to see why Ryukyuan lacquer prior to the 17th century shows strong Chinese, Korean and Southeast Asian influences, while objects produced after the Japanese invasion evidence far stronger Japanese influences.
Developments of the 1860s-70s, centered around the Meiji Restoration
, brought the end of the feudal system, and of tributary relations to both China and Satsuma. Thus, the state monopoly on foreign trade similarly came to an end, and regular Japanese citizens were given the opportunity to purchase Ryukyuan lacquers for the first time. A national industrial promotion exposition in Tokyo in 1881 provided, for many people, their first exposure to Ryukyuan arts.
Following World War II
and the extensive destruction incurred in the islands during the battle of Okinawa
, a number of surveys have been undertaken to learn more about Ryukyuan lacquer (and a great many other cultural and historical subjects), and to discover and collect objects displaced during and following that struggle.
. The use of mother-of-pearl in particular is a common feature of Ryukyuan lacquers, as is the use of particular shades of red, especially as a background. However, it is generally said that the primary distinguishing feature of Ryukyuan lacquers is simply that they "appear to be neither purely Chinese on the one hand nor purely Japanese on the other."
The distinctive red color often seen in Ryukyuan lacquer is of a "deeper, more vibrant tone than that from China or ... Japan". It is obtained by mixing raw lacquer with red pigment in roughly equal amounts, a mixture which turns blood-red in the sunlight.
Though the styles and techniques of producing lacquerware were originally introduced to Ryukyu by China, native motifs gradually came to be incorporated into the islands' lacquerwares. Mother-of-pearl inlay is similarly not originally a Ryukyuan element, but it came to be used to depict papaya, plantain, palm trees, tomoe
, and other motifs of the sub-tropical islands. Other designs, such as images of hibiscus and coral, were introduced in the latter half of the 20th century as part of the artificial cultural production of tourism goods. Traditionally, the use of yellow, green, and other colored lacquers to create designs against the red background is another distinctive Ryukyuan method.
Finally, there is a technique known as tsuikin which is especially distinctive for Ryukyuan lacquers. Lacquer is mixed with pigments to create a sort of clay or putty, which is shaped and carved and then applied onto the object, in order to create textured three-dimensional effects.
Despite these decorative particularities, the basic process of producing lacquerwares differs little between Ryukyu, Japan, and the mainland of Asia. However, Ryukyu does enjoy a number of native woods growing on its islands, including that of the deigo coral tree (Erythrina variegata
). Some traditional processes also involve the use of raw pig's blood or sea sands as part of the undercoat.
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
(today Okinawa Prefecture
Okinawa Prefecture
is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
), and represents a form and style of lacquerware
Lacquerware
Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. The lacquer is sometimes inlaid or carved. Lacquerware includes boxes, tableware, buttons and even coffins painted with lacquer in cultures mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere.-History:...
which is distinct from that of the surrounding cultures. Though distinct in its own ways, it is strongly influenced by Chinese
Chinese art
Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art...
, Japanese
Japanese lacquerware
Japanese lacquerware is a broad category of fine and decorative arts, as lacquer has been used in paintings, prints, and on a wide variety of objects from Buddha statues to bento boxes for food.A number of terms are used in Japanese to refer to lacquerware...
, and Southeast Asian modes.
Ryukyuan lacquerware is distinguished by the use of inlaid seashells and various native Ryukyuan artistic motifs, and a strong tendency towards red lacquer, which is rather less common in the rest of Japan.
History
As the lacquer treeLacquer Tree
Toxicodendron vernicifluum , also known with the common name Chinese lacquer tree, is a species of genus Toxicodendron that grows in East Asia, in regions of China, Korea and Japan...
is not native to Okinawa, the key material needed to produce lacquerware could only be obtained by the Ryukyuans through trade. Though the islands were involved with trade with Japan and the Asian mainland for many centuries, it is generally believed that the presence and production of lacquerware in Ryukyu only began to any significant extent in the late 14th or early 15th centuries. Formal tributary
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
relations with China began in 1372, and in 1427, the Xuande Emperor
Xuande Emperor
The Xuande Emperor was Emperor of China from 1425 to 1435. His era name means "Proclamation of Virtue".-Biography:...
famously bestowed upon Hashi
Sho Hashi
Shō Hashi was the first king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom , uniting the three kingdoms of Chūzan, Hokuzan, and Nanzan by conquest...
, King of Ryukyu
Ryukyu Kingdom
The Ryūkyū Kingdom was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan...
, the honorary family name Shō (Shang), along with a lacquer tablet inscribed with the characters for Chūzan
Chuzan
Chūzan was one of three kingdoms which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more solidly defined kingdoms within a few years after...
, and a number of other lavish gifts, including lacquerwares and formal court robes. This famous lacquer tablet was installed over the entrance to Shuri Castle
Shuri Castle
Shuri Castle is a gusuku in Shuri, Okinawa. It was the palace of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed...
, where it remained until the mid-20th century.
Ryukyu enjoyed a booming trade with Southeast Asia and Korea, and traded many goods from these countries with China, either as tributary gifts or as regular trade goods. Beginning in 1609, when Ryukyu was invaded by Japan's Satsuma Domain, its trade with Southeast Asia and Korea all but came to an end, replaced by commerce with Satsuma. For roughly five hundred years, from 1372 until the mid-19th century, a small number of Ryukyuans resided in Fuzhou
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....
and Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
at any given time, studying academic classics and various arts as well. The community of scholars in Kumemura
Kumemura
Kumemura , located on Okinawa, in the port city of Naha and near the royal capital of Shuri, was a community of scholars, bureaucrats, and diplomats, and a center of culture and learning during the time of the Ryūkyū Kingdom...
, on Okinawa, also included a number of skilled artists and craftsmen. Thus, given the changes in Ryukyu's relationships with foreign countries over its history, it is easy to see why Ryukyuan lacquer prior to the 17th century shows strong Chinese, Korean and Southeast Asian influences, while objects produced after the Japanese invasion evidence far stronger Japanese influences.
Developments of the 1860s-70s, centered around the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, brought the end of the feudal system, and of tributary relations to both China and Satsuma. Thus, the state monopoly on foreign trade similarly came to an end, and regular Japanese citizens were given the opportunity to purchase Ryukyuan lacquers for the first time. A national industrial promotion exposition in Tokyo in 1881 provided, for many people, their first exposure to Ryukyuan arts.
Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the extensive destruction incurred in the islands during the battle of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
, a number of surveys have been undertaken to learn more about Ryukyuan lacquer (and a great many other cultural and historical subjects), and to discover and collect objects displaced during and following that struggle.
Motifs & Style
Ryukyuan lacquer, like lacquerwares from other parts of East and Southeast Asia, comes in a number of standard categories: painted lacquer, carved, incised and filled in with gold, painted with gold, and inlaid with mother-of-pearlNacre
Nacre , also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks as an inner shell layer; it is also what makes up pearls. It is very strong, resilient, and iridescent....
. The use of mother-of-pearl in particular is a common feature of Ryukyuan lacquers, as is the use of particular shades of red, especially as a background. However, it is generally said that the primary distinguishing feature of Ryukyuan lacquers is simply that they "appear to be neither purely Chinese on the one hand nor purely Japanese on the other."
The distinctive red color often seen in Ryukyuan lacquer is of a "deeper, more vibrant tone than that from China or ... Japan". It is obtained by mixing raw lacquer with red pigment in roughly equal amounts, a mixture which turns blood-red in the sunlight.
Though the styles and techniques of producing lacquerware were originally introduced to Ryukyu by China, native motifs gradually came to be incorporated into the islands' lacquerwares. Mother-of-pearl inlay is similarly not originally a Ryukyuan element, but it came to be used to depict papaya, plantain, palm trees, tomoe
Tomoe
A tomoe or tomoye is a Japanese abstract shape that resembles a comma or the usual form of magatama. It is a common design element in and corporate logos, particularly in triplicate whorls known as . Some view the mitsudomoe as representative of the threefold division at the heart of the...
, and other motifs of the sub-tropical islands. Other designs, such as images of hibiscus and coral, were introduced in the latter half of the 20th century as part of the artificial cultural production of tourism goods. Traditionally, the use of yellow, green, and other colored lacquers to create designs against the red background is another distinctive Ryukyuan method.
Finally, there is a technique known as tsuikin which is especially distinctive for Ryukyuan lacquers. Lacquer is mixed with pigments to create a sort of clay or putty, which is shaped and carved and then applied onto the object, in order to create textured three-dimensional effects.
Despite these decorative particularities, the basic process of producing lacquerwares differs little between Ryukyu, Japan, and the mainland of Asia. However, Ryukyu does enjoy a number of native woods growing on its islands, including that of the deigo coral tree (Erythrina variegata
Erythrina variegata
Erythrina variegata is a species of Erythrina native to the tropical and subtropical regions of eastern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, northern Australia, and the islands of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean east to...
). Some traditional processes also involve the use of raw pig's blood or sea sands as part of the undercoat.