The Sailor ‘King of Pens’ model is a perfect choice for Mr. Wataru Kurotobe (the Kyou Urushi artist) to craft his “CHIKU-RIN" masterpiece. Using the traditional special Urushi lacquer techniques of “Mijimgai-togi” & ”Kanshitsuko-toji” combined with “Aogai” - the distinctive colours of Urushi lacquer come together to create the  “CHIKU-RIN” to portray the peace and tranquility within the bamboo groves.

 

 

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. The Abalone shell is then applied to the mid barrel section to create the ‘bamboo ’ design and burnished. This technique is called “Aogai”.

 

The Abalone shell (bamboo design) is applied the mid barrel section. After the Naka-nuri coating, dried Urushi powder is sprinkled onto the surface with small shell pieces. This stiffens the Naka-nuri coating. The Urushi lacquer is allowed to dry, and then it is coated with a Green Urushi lacquer. The surface is then coated with layers of Green Urushi lacquer. After drying the surface is polished with a whetstone to create the gradation. The process is repeated several times. The surface is then burnished (smoothed) using the Doh-Suri 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.