- The Origins of Echizen Lacquerware
The origins of Echizen lacquerware are said to reach back about 1,500 years to the sixth century, at the end of the Kofun period. While the 26th emperor, Keitai, was still a prince, he asked a lacquer painter in Katayama Village—now Katayama-cho in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture—to repair a damaged crown. The artisan repaired the crown with lacquer and presented the prince with a black bowl. Impressed by the exceptional workmanship, the prince encouraged the production of lacquerware in Katayama. This is said to mark the beginning of today's Echizen lacquerware tradition.
Kawada's Living Craft Network
Tracing the Making of Lacquerware
Kawada, Fukui
Kawada, in Fukui Prefecture, is one of Japan's most important lacquerware-producing regions. Here, lacquerware is not made by a single artisan, but through a network of specialists, each responsible for a different stage of production.
In this experience, guests visit three makers in a single day, taking part in selected processes and creating their own bowls or lunch boxes under the guidance of the artisans. Through these encounters, participants gain insight into how individual skills are layered together to create a finished piece.
The specialists you meet are part of a community that continues to sustain and pass on these techniques today. Their work offers a rare glimpse into a living tradition shaped by collaboration, expertise, and generations of accumulated knowledge.
Once completed by the artisans, the finished pieces are shipped to participants, allowing the story of their creation to continue through everyday use.
- The Growth of a Major Lacquerware Region
Echizen lacquerware reached a major turning point in the middle of the Meiji era. Until then, production had focused primarily on round objects such as bowls, but makers began adding angular forms and other objects. The range quickly expanded to include tiered boxes, small personal boxes, trays, confectionery boxes, and vases. Production spread throughout the Kawada area, and the lacquerware made there became known as Kawada-nuri. Building on this diverse range of products, the region developed markets for commercial lacquerware used at inns and restaurants while establishing a system for production at scale. This strategy proved highly successful. As sales expanded to major markets including Nagoya and Osaka, Kawada-nuri became widely recognized as Echizen lacquerware.
- He says
“I hope you will come to Kawada, where Japan's distinctive lacquer culture thrives, experience part of it firsthand, and discover the beauty and depth of lacquer. I would be delighted if you enjoyed using the vessel you made at home and remembered us whenever you did.
“Creating something that moves people requires meticulous effort. Art has no fixed formula, so trusting your own sensibility leads to originality. I believe the same is true of life.”
- Artisan of Shaping Wood
- Masayoshi Shimizu Tachiyo Kajiwara Naganobu Komamoto
- Masayoshi Shimizu is a leading professional with approximately 70 years of experience as a woodworker. He shapes wood with remarkable ease using tools that he maintains himself and can reproduce any form with precision.
Access
20 minutes by taxi from Echizen-Takefu Station
The marker shows the approximate area.
The exact address will be provided when your reservation is confirmed.
Experiences
- Reserve
Echizen Lacquerware Bento Box Journey
400,000 JPY / groupTravel through Kawada in Sabae, one of Japan’s leading lacquerware-producing communities, and follow the making of an Echizen lacquerware bento box across a network of specialist artisans. In a single day, visit three makers responsible for different stages of production and take part in selected processes under their guidance.
The experience reveals how woodworking, lacquering, and decoration are layered together through collaboration rather than completed by one person alone. After the artisans finish the remaining work, your bento box will be shipped to you for use in everyday life.
- Reserve
Three-Piece Echizen Lacquerware-Making Journey in Sabae
350,000 JPY / groupTravel through Kawada in Sabae, one of Japan’s leading lacquerware-producing communities, and follow the making of Echizen lacquerware across a network of three specialist artisans. In a single day, your group experiences all three stages—wood turning, lacquering, and maki-e decoration—and creates a three-piece set for the reservation under direct guidance. Lunch is included.
Because lacquerware is completed through repeated specialist processes over time, the artisans finish the remaining work after your visit. The three completed pieces are shipped approximately three months later, carrying the story of Kawada’s collaborative craft network into everyday use. Shipping is charged separately. The price is JPY 350,000 per group of one to five guests.