Wakasa Lacquerware

Wakasa lacquerware (若狭塗, Wakasa-nuri) is traditional Japanese art from Obama City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. Wakasa lacquerware can be boxes or other objects. They are covered in decorations of eggshells, seashells, and pine needles. Wakasa lacquerware uses "togidashi maki-e", a technique in which a large pattern is put on an object by adding many layers of lacquer. it takes a long time to make Wakasa laquerware. The entire process is completed by a single artisan. Wakasa lacquerware  is famous for lacquer chopsticks in Japan. Lacquer chopsticks from Obama City account for 80% of domestic production, but almost all of them are produced in factories. Wakasa lacquer chopsticks which are actually produced by artisans are less than 1 percent of the domestic production in Obama City. Artisans take at least half a year to produce a pair of chopsticks. In 2008 and 2013, a lacquer picture frame and a lacquer ballpoint pen were given to Barack Obama by Obama City.
History.
Wakasa lacquerware is said to have started in the early Edo period from 1596 to 1615. An lacquerware artisan, Sanjuro Matsuura created a lacquerware which had a pattern of seabed of Wakasa Bay. The pattern was designed by referring to Chinese lacquerware. The techniques of producing lacquerware which Matsuura had developed was improved during the Manji era (1658 to 1660). Because families of the lord supported the artisans, Wakasa lacquerware became the core industry of the Obama Domain. It is said that the golden age of Wakasa lacquerware when Wakasa lacquerware were popular and sold a lot is the middle to late Edo period (1603-1868), but after that, the demand of Wakasa lacquerware has decreased. These days, artisans are trying to create new ways to apply design, such as PC mouse and accessories. The number of artisans has been decreasing and, as of 2020, there were 4 artisans of Wakasa lacquerware.   
Process.
There are 18 steps to make Wakasa lacquerware.
New styles of Wakasa Lacquerware.
Nowadays, new Wakasa lacquerware products which are used in daily life are made. For example, PC mouse, ballpoint pens, and phone covers are new kinds of products of it in order for people who buy them to know about Wakasa lacquerware.