{"product_id":"15th-16th-century-negoro-lacquer-obon-tray","title":"15th－16th Century Negoro Lacquer Obon Tray","description":"\u003cp\u003eA prototypical Negoro lacquered square tray dating from the Muromachi to Momoyama periods with corners cut, the red lacquer heavily worn to reveal the black lacquer and substrate beneath. The bottom is lacquered black with a single character “Ichi” (one) in the center, and the name “Iguchi” in the lower left corner in red. It measures 36.5 cm (14-1\/2 inches) square, 3.5 cm (1-1\/4 inches) tall and is in overall surprisingly good condition for the age without restoration.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNegoro lacquerware is one of Japan’s most distinctive lacquer traditions, celebrated not for pristine polish but for the slow revelation of time itself—a red surface gradually wearing away to expose black beneath. Negoro lacquerware takes its name from Negoro-ji, a powerful Shingon Buddhist temple complex in present-day Wakayama Prefecture. From the late Heian through the Muromachi period, Negoro-ji functioned as a vast religious and economic center, complete with workshops producing ritual implements, furnishings, and everyday utensils for monastic life. Negoro pieces were utilitarian by design: bowls, trays, sutra stands, writing boxes, and ritual vessels meant for constant handling. Their durability—thick wooden cores coated first in black lacquer, then overlaid with vermilion red—was paramount. The hallmark of Negoro-nuri lies in its inevitable transformation. As objects were used, the red lacquer thinned at edges and contact points, allowing the black underlayer to emerge naturally. Over years—and sometimes centuries—each object acquired a unique topography of abrasion; rims darkened by lips and hands, corners softened by movement and surfaces mottled like weathered architecture. This was not planned ornamentation, but the result of lived time. This quality later resonated deeply with tea practitioners, who recognized in Negoro lacquer a material expression of wabi—quiet imperfection, humility, and endurance. In 1585, Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked Negoro-ji, destroying much of the temple complex and dispersing its monks. Production at the site effectively ceased. Yet paradoxically, this catastrophe ensured Negoro lacquer’s survival: objects entered circulation among warriors, merchants, and tea masters, where their aesthetic value was newly appreciated. Therefore, by the late Momoyama and early Edo periods, old Negoro pieces were already prized as antiques. During the Edo period, Negoro lacquer became firmly embedded in chanoyu (tea ceremony) culture. Tea masters valued it alongside Bizen ware, Shigaraki jars, and weathered bamboo utensils—objects that bore the marks of time rather than resisting it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kura Monzen Gallery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51258651836663,"sku":"K1716","price":221000.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/7472\/3063\/files\/2026-09-2512.07.42.jpg?v=1793076699","url":"https:\/\/kuramonzen.com\/products\/15th-16th-century-negoro-lacquer-obon-tray","provider":"Kura Monzen Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}