Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-11-25

prOccH3 is lacquer making, hno III results,
both new and old, from q majority OF
the art products Of Japan, as 1t has been
the most Characteristic and popular Ja-
panese art for !, 800 or perhaps 2,OyO
wears. IL is so elaborate that L can
give only the most meagre outline OF It.
The object generally tray, box, or
a cabinets fret made in thin white
pine, as only japanese carpenters
can make such things: then the joints
are covered with muslin and rice
glue, and thin coat OF lacquer, and the
whole is dried in the oven. Lacquer is
tho sap OF the lacquer tree, thus verni-
cifera, drawn of by making incisions in
the bark during the rainy season, and
secretly prepared. Then the thin hemp
cloth is stretched tightly over the whole
surface upon q basis OF mixed lacquer
and wheat-hour Then coat after coat
of different kinds Of lacquer is laid
on. polishing after polishing IS given,
till after the last coat the last polish IS
attained with powdered cAlcined deer's
horn applied with the finger. The gold
mottled surface is produced by busting
gold-hake through little muslin sieve
and the designs upon colored lacquer
are first traced on IN gold and then tho
powders arc applied IN a multitude OF
WAYS. from the brushes OF rats hair and
hare hair and cats hair and human hair
and hair from the long winter coat OF o
horse to the simple pad Of cotton wool. Old
gold lacquer is so extremely costly. the
ar;ifcer told rs, because OF the large
quantity Of gold used to obtain the night
surface. The price Of this box which
1 have just finished, he said. showing
MS a wonderful specimen OF gold lacquer
design in cherry blossoms and trees.
with n river and houses in the distance,
sis $500, and it has been eight months
in hand. ii | had made it as they made
the old lacquer it would cost $500, but
there would he no market for It,
As regards the antiquity Of the lacquer
industry japanese chronicles give the
name Of the person who was "chief Of
the imperial lacquer department under
the Emperor koan, in the year Is. ..
392. In the seventh century a. d.,
lacquered articles were
RECEIVED II LIEU OF TAXES,
and afterward. so great was the value set
upon lacquer for the Emperor's own use,
that tie making Of it except in the IN
perIal lacquer department WAS prohi-
bited. In the eighth century, rs enough
lacquer could DO longer DO procured
IRON the wild trees, every farmer WAS
compelled first, to plant from forty to
eighty lacquer-trees. and second, TO pay
his taxes in lacquer. Now lacquer-trces
grow everywhere, as they are very hardy.
Tho oldest piece of lacquer work extant
is box which held the scarf OF Bud-
dhist priest who lived in A. D. 80. 1t
seems highly probable that if working
in lacdner-l mean work OF the straight
forward and cheap kind--was under
stood and could be praciiced in other
countries it would be found applicable
to an infinite number OF useful pur-
poses. For example, experiments are
making in Yokohama OF this moment TO
determine whether coating Of lacquer
will not prove a perfect covering for a
ships bottom.
The actual manual skill OF the ia
panese artifcer seems remarkable
to us, but it does not strike his
fellow-countrymen as being much
ont OF the common. And indeed the
traveller II japan soon learns to trans
for his wonder from the individual to
tho nation. This extraordinary people,
who pull the saw or the plane toward
them, instead Of pushing 1t away, who
make the threads Of their screws run
the other way from ours, who sit down
IN the presence of superior as a mark
OF respect, who blow their noses upon
paper, and wrap their parcels in
pocket handkerchleis, are born with
manual deXterity that is simply aston
ishing. That is true OF everybody, men
and women, low and high alike. Your
jinrikishs coolie will tie knots, repair his
vehicle, or lend hand in anything you
are doing, with the knack Of n man-ot-
wars man and the delicacy Of q dentist
the cook nj the house where am staying
will knock of charming little sketches
for the children by the hour and any
little Job that requires intelligence and
manual skill almost anyJapanese will DO
for you. 10 give only one example-it
you happen to be suffering from that
troublesome and painful infection, a
boil, your japanese servant will take
hair, pass it by some magic known only
to himself around the inside OF the sore,
and with only twiRge to yourself re-
move the whole of the diseased flesh.
What the ordinary japanese most cd
Joys in bis works of art Is the quaint or
COMIC TELLING or A STORY
or depicting of humorous incident.
The carving OF the man carefully lifting
the box which be has put down over
rat, and waiting with uphfted club to
smash it as it comes ont. whilo the rat,
having eaten away a corner, has escaped
up his sleeve aud IS sitting on his
back watching the process over his
shoulder-thst is the spirit which APP .
peels to their fancy. have taken
a great many photographs in ia
pan of all sorts OF people, instanta- 7
neous street-vieWs, studies of dancers
and portraits of geishs, and although /
some OF them seemed TO me rather in- +
teresting. my japanese friends did not .
care for them ct all. But one day | took .
a picture of very pretty girl with her
arm rouad a large carved wooden Ds- .
ruma-an efigy of the saint who sQuatted .
in such a prolonged inward contem-
plation OF the nature > Of things
that his legs rottcd off-and look
ing teasingly into his face with an
look, while his fixed gaze over
her head seems to be en- appeal for
help against she temptress. And over
this picture at last my friends were en-
thusiastIc. "That is excellent" they
said, cit is delightful-it is japanese !"
the fame of this photograph
reached the reporters, and a paragraph
appeared in the newspapers coneratula-
ting me upon it, and giving the name Of
the owner Of the DGruma-a very sedate
was by no means grateful
for notoriety OF that particular kind.
As soon as the treaty revision question