Edo Makie Lacquers

During the reign of third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, many prominent Edo makie artists, including Koma Kyūi (died 1681) and others from the Yamada school, were employed as official lacquer artisans (goyō makie-shi) crafting items like inro (seal cases) and sword mountings. During the Bunka and Bunsei Periods (1804–30), under the reign of eleventh shogun Tokugawa Ienari, makie was frequently used to decorate furniture and other household articles for the brides and daughters of the Tokugawa shogun's family and others with blood ties to the shogunate. As a consequence, Edo makie enjoyed unprecedented prosperity during this period.

Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, many of the official painters who had enjoyed the patronage and protection of the Tokugawa shogunate or other daimyo families were forced to change or give up their businesses. Fortunately, new Meiji government policies aimed at encouraging industry also encouraged the production of lacquerware, particularly since these had proved to be so popular in markets abroad. Urushi lacquer crafting was added to the curriculum of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1887, with classes initially run by teacher Ogawa Shōmin (1847–91).

Shibata Zeshin (1807–1891) also learned makie and painting from a young age, coming to create makie and lacquer painted artworks with his own distinct techniques of lacquering. He was appointed as an Imperial Household Artist in 1890 and trained many apprentices.

Akatsuka Jitoku (1871–1936) was a central figure in lacquerwork circles in Japan from the Taishō period (1912–1926). He was active in exhibiting works at exhibitions in Japan and abroad, successively holding important posts in art circles. He is known for his modern works incorporating traditional elements.

Shūhō (1914–1982) made use of what he learned in oil painting while studying under his father, Jihō, to create his own original artistic oeuvre. Arisumi (born 1949) is the tenth generational head of the Akatsuka style of Edo makie, inheriting the teachings of his father and grandfather. He has taught younger artists in a capacity as professor at Tokyo University of the Arts and member of Nitten (recipient of the first Nitten prize in 2014 after the art exhibition was reformed).

The Mitamura family brushes and tubes used to sprinkle metal powder have been passed down through the ages, and they move freely in the hands of Mitamura Arisumi like they are parts of his body. It is almost as if the brushes are joined with his body. Tubes for metal powder are said to have once been made of swan feathers. But such traditional tools can no longer be obtained. It is becoming difficult in Japanese crafts today to obtain the tools, much less the materials, used. This is due to the aging of craftsmen who make them and to reduced availability of necessary materials. The tools passed down by the Mitamura family have become the heritage of Japan’s lacquer-producing  culture in the same way historical art works are.