The Art of the Lacquer Craftsman (Nurishi): Specialist Artisans Who Bring Sword Fittings to Life Through Lacquer, Decorative Finishes, and Leather Wrapping

What is a Nurishi (Lacquer Specialist)?

One of the master craftspeople who make up the components of a Japanese sword's koshirae is the "nurishi" (lacquer specialist). After the sayashi (scabbard maker) shapes the wooden base of the scabbard, the nurishi applies urushi (lacquer) to finish it. The scabbard's finish determines the overall impression of the sword and was an important element expressing the owner's social status, taste, and values.

The nurishi's professional scope extends beyond scabbard lacquering to reinforcing coatings on the hilt (tsuka), repairs and refinishing of scabbards, and lacquer finishing on sword boxes and stands. Within the community of sword mounting craftspeople, they have historically functioned as an independent specialized profession alongside sayashi, tsukashi, metalworkers, and polishers.

Types of Lacquer and Finishing Techniques

The lacquer used by the nurishi is primarily the sap of the lacquer tree (Rhus vernicifera), known as "hon'urushi" (true lacquer), a domestic product. Depending on extraction and refinement methods, it is classified into types such as "suki-urushi" (clear lacquer), "kuro-urushi" (black lacquer), "shu-urushi" (red lacquer), and "roiro-urushi" (pale amber lacquer), each providing different colors and luster.

Finishing techniques are also diverse. "Roiro finishing" is the most lustrous finish, where multiple layers of lacquer are polished to a mirror-like surface through charcoal polishing and buffing. "Ishime finishing" is a matte finish that retains slight surface irregularities, commonly used in samurai koshirae that favored a more austere aesthetic. "Makie" is a technique where gold dust, silver dust, and colored powders are sprinkled on lacquer to create designs, developed as the highest level of decoration for koshirae.

Lacquer dries optimally in an environment of approximately 20-25°C temperature and 70-80% humidity. The nurishi uses a specialized room called "urushi-muro" (lacquer chamber) to manage drying between each process stage. For high-quality finishes, the base layer alone may involve multiple polishing steps, and the total process often extends to 10-15 or more stages. Notably, shirasaya (plain wooden scabbard) for storage is not lacquered as a principle. Lacquer interferes with the wood's breathing, making it difficult to manage humidity inside the scabbard and potentially causing rust on the blade.

Apprenticeship System and Technical Transmission

Training for nurishi traditionally took the form of becoming an apprentice to a master. Beginning with base preparation (wood preparation, rust application, and linen backing), techniques were learned progressively through middle coating, top coating, finish polishing, and buffing. It was customary to train under a master for 5 to 10 years before being recognized as a fully qualified nurishi.

In modern times, education is also provided at lacquer art schools and craft specialized schools, but for becoming an independent nurishi specializing in sword mountings, apprenticeship to a master remains the most reliable path. Technical connections with domestic traditional lacquer art regions (Wajima, Aizu, Kyoto, etc.) are deep, and regional lacquer art culture and sword mounting lacquering techniques are closely interrelated.

Historical Transition of Sword Mounting Lacquering

The history of nurishi technique overlaps with the history of the Japanese sword. In Heian period tachi koshirae, grand examples remained such as "kuro-urushi no tachi" (black lacquer tachi) and "itomaki no tachi" (cord-wrapped tachi), where the entire scabbard was finished in lacquer. From the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, practical battlefield koshirae became the norm, and durable, simple lacquering was preferred.

With the onset of the Edo period and sustained peace, the artistic value of koshirae increased, and luxurious scabbards decorated with makie and taka-makie were commissioned by daimyo families. Ceremonial koshirae for presentation that fit into the sword chests of daimyo families have been transmitted to the present day as craft objects that concentrated the skills of nurishi and makie artisans.

Contemporary Nurishi—Crisis of Continuity and Efforts at Transmission

The number of nurishi specializing in sword mountings has become extremely limited in contemporary times. The contraction of sword demand and the aging of craftspeople have converged, and there are increasing cases of nurishi closing their workshops without securing successors. While the Ministry of Culture and various traditional craft preservation organizations have undertaken to provide successor training subsidies and develop training systems, support specifically tailored to the nurishi profession remains insufficient.

On the other hand, as interest in sword mountings has increased, there are emerging cases of young lacquer artisans expanding their activities to sword scabbard lacquering. A movement toward re-evaluating the nurishi's work as a "comprehensive manufacturing entity" that engages in all stages of creating a single sword in collaboration with sword makers (tosho) who produce contemporary swords is slowly spreading.

Types and Characteristics of Kawari-nuri (Specialty Finishes)

"Kawari-nuri" is a collective term for scabbard lacquering using special designs or techniques that differ from standard single-color black lacquer finishes. The following outlines representative types.

• Roiro-nuri: A mirror-like finish considered the pinnacle of lacquer finishing. After the top coat, the surface is polished with suruga charcoal (a type of polishing charcoal), and further polished with abrasives such as tsuno-ko (deer antler powder) and raw lacquer to bring out the deep luster inherent to lacquer. Requiring passage through dozens of steps, it is the finish most demanding of the nurishi's skill and time. Also written as "roiro," it refers to the same technique.
• Ishime-nuri: A matte finish that intentionally retains fine surface irregularities. Due to its slip-resistant properties, it was commonly used in practical samurai koshirae, and is seen on scabbards of Higo-koshirae, emphasizing material texture.
• Leather-wrapped scabbard: A form finished by wrapping same-gawa (ray skin) or deer leather around the wooden base, characterized by a rustic, austere aesthetic distinct from lacquer finishing. When applying ray skin, the leather is softened with water and adhered tightly to the wood base, then fixed through shrinkage during drying. High skill is required for seam treatment and surface smoothing. In the Satsuma domain's "Satsuma-koshirae," deer leather-wrapped scabbards were preferred, their light brown color creating a beauty of sturdy simplicity distinct from black lacquer.
• Aogai-nuri: A form of raden (shell inlay) technique. Shell (abalone, moonlight shell, butterfly shell, etc.) is polished to approximately 0.1mm thickness and inlaid into lacquer, and because of the shell's thinness, the black lacquer beneath shows through, creating a bluish, unique iridescent luster. The transmission of raden to Japan dates back to the Nara period exchange period with the Tang missions, and the raden technique is seen on treasures in the Shoso-in. In application to sword scabbards, it was particularly frequently used on ceremonial koshirae of daimyo families and aikuchi (short sword) koshirae for women.

Nurishi and Shirogane-shi—Division of Labor in Sword Mounting Composition

The nurishi's work is sustained within a division-of-labor system with sayashi, tsukashi, and metalworkers. Often mentioned alongside the nurishi in this division of labor is the shirogane-shi (specialist metalworker). The shirogane-shi is a craftsperson who specializes exclusively in manufacturing the metal component "habaki" that fits at the boundary between blade and hilt, working metals such as silver, red copper, and gold into a form that adheres tightly to the blade. The habaki functions to fix the blade firmly when the sword is sheathed to prevent looseness and to cushion the impact of drawing. With the progression of division of labor from the Muromachi period onward, the shirogane-shi became an independent specialist in habaki manufacture and supported, along with the nurishi and sayashi, the foundation of koshirae production.

Historical Representative Examples of Lacquered Scabbards

The kuro-urushi no tachi is a representative koshirae of Heian period samurai dress, an elegant form with the entire scabbard finished in black lacquer. The itomaki no tachi of the Kamakura period features a scabbard with the upper portion wrapped in twisted cord, completed through the combined skills of the nurishi's lacquering and the kumihimo artist's work. In makie koshirae produced by daimyo families in the Edo period for wedding and ceremonial use, collaboration took place wherein the makie artisan scattered gold dust on the nurishi's top coat to complete the designs.