Layers of Time: The Lacquerwear Master of Wajima

In a quiet coastal workshop in Wajima, Master artisan Hiroshi Kuroda applies urushi lacquer by hand — one whisper-thin layer at a time. With each stroke, centuries of tradition are sealed into bowls, boxes, and fountain pens that gleam like still water. His work is slow, exacting, and impossibly beautiful. In Kuroda’s hands, lacquer becomes more than surface — it becomes soul.