An event was held at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, Tokyo, where parents and children can experience making works of the traditional craft "Ryukyu lacquerware" that has been handed down in Okinawa.
This event was held as a related event of a special exhibition that conveys the culture of the Ryukyu Kingdom to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's return to the mainland, and about 20 elementary and junior high school students and parents participated and experienced making Ryukyu lacquer ware. ..
First, the participants learned the history of Ryukyu lacquer ware from a craftsman who is a lecturer, and then challenged a technique called "Shinkin" to draw a pattern on lacquer ware with gold.
After copying the sketch they drew on the prepared lacquer board, the children carefully carved a groove with a tool and painted it with gold powder to finish it.
A 6th grade boy from Chiba Prefecture said, "It was difficult to carve a curve, but I'm glad that it was finished beautifully when I put in the money. I want to decorate it at the front door of my house."
Takako Maeda (58), a craftsman of Ryukyu lacquer ware who served as a lecturer, said, "Ryukyu lacquer ware was used in the royal palace, so it was a craft that was not very familiar to the general public, but the ancestors left it. I want to convey to young people that there is such a wonderful technique. "