Buying Urushi Lacquer

Last updated July 1, 2023 – Kintsugi, Research

Here is my research on buying urushi.

But first, a photo of a skateboard coated in urushi:

Source: https://japaneseclass.jp/dictionary/%E6%BC%86

Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, here are the urushi types.

Seshime Urushi

生漆, also known as 瀬〆漆, is a brown semi-transparent, unrefined lacquer. Typically used as a wood stain in a process called fuki-urushi or suri-urushi.

Also used for shakuhachi flute interior coating and the backside of whetstones¹. Can also be used for Kintsugi, as I’ve been doing in Kintsugi 101.

Black Urushi

黒呂色漆 (kuroro-iro urushi) is made with iron powder.

Source: https://www.kourin-urushi.com/?pid=150517220

Red Urushi

I already discussed this in Training Myself in Kintsugi.

Clear Urushi

I searched for clear urushi in English and ended up finding these search terms: 上朱合漆 (joshugo urushi) is sometimes called transparent amber, sometimes called glossy brown, and Papago translated it as red-spotted lacquer. It also appears to be an urushi made for glass in some cases². I’m realizing that just because it has the kanji 上, it doesn’t mean it’s a top coat!

Looks like 透漆 actually means transparent, and it’s what Tokyu Hands recommends in this tutorial.

Source: Tokyu Hands. They recommend using transparent urushi (透漆) as a final layer, then dabbing it with a tissue until it’s mostly gone.

透漆 is the best search term for transparent lacquer, but there are so many types! This site sells many types. Each product is described as suitable with roiro or not, and what color undercoat it pairs best with. I believe this one is the best one for me!

This site also shows many types of transparent lacquer.

This shop is based in Iwate and has a lot of lacquer for sale. They make cool resin blocks with urushi painted goldfish inside

Joboji Japan lacquer (the one that won the Good Design award) has a website but no shop.

Types of Lacquer

I stumbled upon a page describing Wajima Lacquer style, which has multiple coatings. Another page described the Wajima style as using nayashi, or heated raw lacquer instead of plain raw lacquer like I’ve been using. Further research shows that the ki urushi category doesn’t contain nayashi—and refined urushi is either colored or transparent.

Source: https://www.urushilab.com/urushi/lacquer-types/

Could this be why one of my Mugi-Urushi repairs fell off with repeated use? I used seshime urushi as the base. I also didn’t use a clear coat, and it only had 3 layers of urushi. Hmmmm….

Oil vs. No Oil

This page describes two methods of applying glossy topcoats: 1. “Roiro”, which uses high-quality Japanese lacquer that does not contain oil for the top coat, then polishing with oil + powder, applying more topcoats, and repeating. 2. “Hana-nuri”, which uses a topcoat with oil included, applied in a dust-free room and left to cure naturally. No polishing. Oil lacquer takes longer to cure. Not suitable for large objects, typically used on smaller pieces like chopsticks and the interior of bowls.

Lacquerware Smell

The same site as above has a page on removing lacquerware smell with a cloth soaked in rice water & vinegar. Or placing in a rice box for a week.

Colored Urushi

Fun colors here.

Footnotes

Mejiro’s product page for Seshime Urushi explains several uses, including Kintsugi repair. ↩
An example of urushi applied to glass ↩