The Sailor ‘King of Pen’ model is a perfect choice for Mr.Wataru Kurotobe (the Kyou Urushi artist) to craft his “AKATSUKI” masterpiece - Using the special Urushi lacquering techniques of  “Mijimgai-togi” & ”Kanshitsuko-togi”, two different red urushi lacquers combine to portray the bright future ahead in the chaotic world around us.

 

 

Urushi lacquer is painted onto a glass strip, allowed to dry and then ‘scraped off’ the glass and crushed into a powder. The Urushi powder is then graded into different sizes. The Urushi powder is sprinkled onto a Naka-nuri lacquer coating, allowed to dry and then the process is repeated. The techniques of ‘Mijingai-Togi and ‘Kanshituko-Togi’ are used to create the rich colour gradation, using dark red Urushi applied first and then lighter red. The half circle of gold leaf is then applied to the lower part of cap to create the design and colouration and is coated with brownish-red Suki-Urushi. This process is called ‘Byakudan-nuri’.

After the Naka-nuri coating, dried Urushi powder is sprinkled on the surface with small shell pieces. This stiffens the Naka-nuri coating. Urushi lacquer is allowed to dry, then it is coated with a dark-red Shu-Urushi lacquer. The surface is then painted with bright red Urushi lacquer. After drying, the surface is polished with a whetstone to create the gradation. A half circle of gold leaf is applied to the lower part of the cap to create the coloration. Brownish-red Urushi lacquer is then applied and allowed to dry, then repeated. The surface is then burnished (smoothed) using the Do-Zuri technique. Then Ki-Urushi(raw urushi) lacquer is applied, allowed to dry and the process is then repeated twice. This completes the Roiro-Migaki process producing a high gloss finish.