Makie/Mr. Yukio's portrait

*Chiba Prefecture's traditional craftsman

Gold powder is sprinkled, which is why it is called Makie (Gold lacquering)
Yukio Okita says "The beauty of Makie is that the more you use it, the more beautiful it becomes. The gold family symbol stands out on the black lacquer background." Yukio Okita lives near Lake Imba in Daikata, Narita city, creating his traditional craft at his home, mainly on the scabbards of swords. Makie, the representative art of urushi (Japan), is a way of producing designs on lacquerware. After drawing a pattern in the wet black lacquer background, he sprinkles with gold powder, leaves it to dry for a week, and then adds several more coats of lacquer and leaves it to dry again before polishing. Work made in this way is called "Takamakie" because of the embossed design.