This Is Lacquer Like You’ve Never Seen It | Mine Tanigawa’s Japanese Urushi Sculptures

Why It Matters

Tanigawa’s fusion of ancient lacquer techniques with modern materials expands the luxury art market and showcases sustainable, high‑tech craftsmanship rooted in Japanese heritage.

Key Takeaways

• Tanigawa reimagines urushi, using vivid colors to depict liquid motion.
• FRP boards replace wood, allowing ultra‑thin, flexible lacquer sculptures.
• Modern pigment technology expands urushi palette beyond traditional five colors.
• Precise curing, polishing, and climate control ensure flawless, glossy finishes.
• Each piece requires three months, highlighting craftsmanship and material sustainability.

Summary

Mine Tanigawa, a Kyoto‑based artist, creates sculptural works from urushi—traditional Japanese lacquer—by treating the material as a flowing liquid rather than a static coating. She draws inspiration from natural phenomena and reinterprets classic black and red hues with a broader, vivid palette made possible by modern pigment advances.

The production process begins with watercolor sketches, which are digitized, enlarged, and printed as full‑size templates. These are transferred onto fibre‑reinforced plastic (FRP) boards, a composite that provides the strength needed for the ultra‑thin lines that would break in wood. After reinforcing delicate sections with polyester putty, Tanigawa applies multiple layers of clear and coloured urushi, each cured in a climate‑controlled buro and polished with charcoal (togisumi) to achieve a mirror‑like surface.

She sources pre‑pigmented urushi from Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi, a specialist firm that refines raw sap, mixes pigments—including titanium white—and packages the product for artists. Tanigawa emphasizes meticulous preparation—straining brushes, checking colour shifts from liquid to solid, and storing mixes in airtight film—to maintain consistency across the three‑month creation cycle.

The work bridges centuries of Japanese craft with contemporary material science, demonstrating how expanded colour ranges and engineered substrates can revitalize a heritage art form. For collectors and designers, Tanigawa’s pieces signal a market for high‑end, sustainably produced lacquer art that respects tradition while embracing innovation.

Original Description

In Kyoto, artist Mine Tanigawa creates delicate sculptures using urushi lacquer, a natural tree sap with a history dating back to Japan’s Jomon period over 7,000 years ago.

This film follows her meticulous process – from watercolour sketches and digital refinement to the careful layering, curing, and polishing of lacquer. Her work captures urushi in motion, expressing its fluid nature through forms inspired by flowing water, drifting clouds, and the landscapes of southern Kyoto.

We also visit Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi, a traditional lacquer supplier, to see how raw sap is refined, coloured, and prepared using time-honoured techniques and machinery. Once limited to just five natural colours, modern urushi now offers a rich palette, yet remains deeply rooted in tradition.

Each sculpture takes around three months to complete, with countless layers, polishing stages, and precise environmental control required to achieve its flawless finish.

00:00 Kyoto-based artist Mine Tanigawa

01:21 Painting the design using flowing watercolour

02:13 Transferring the design to Fibre Reinforced Plastic 

02:27 Cutting the sculpture with electric saws

03:42 Comparing colour samples of cured urushi

05:21 Preparing and mixing the selected colours

06:46 Inside the factory where coloured urushi is produced

08:56 Blending the urushi with traditional machinery

10:13 Tanigawa applies blue urushi in layers

11:19 Polishing the sculpture with charcoal

13:19 The finished sculpture

This film was produced with the support of the Toshiba International Foundation, with additional support from Susanna Pang, Dr Tsun-Woon Lee and Hiroyuki Maki.

See this piece in the Urushi Now: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer display at the V&A South Kensington until 30 April 2027: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/urushi-now-contemporary-japanese-lacquer

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See more How Was It Made films https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe2ihXndm5js7ANCTaZ26aocPKe74M8XJ&si=B18YeTFR59QxxEs7

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