Vermilion

A type of carved lacquer technique. A vessel base is painted with multiple layers of vermilion lacquer, and then a pattern is carved into the layers. When black lacquer is used, it is called tsuikoku, but other names include tsuikou and tsuiroku. It was imported from the Song dynasty during the Kamakura period, and in China it is called tekikou, tsuikoku, tsuiroku, and tsuiroku. Lacquer carved with layers of lacquer and carved to represent the colors of the layers is called choshitsu urushi, and when flowers are painted vermilion and leaves are painted green it is called kokarokuyo. Written literature indicates that it originated in the Tang dynasty, and the Ming dynasty book "Seihibikaku" states that most tsuiroku lacquerware was based on gold and silver, and featured figures, buildings, flowers, and grasses. Production of these vessels flourished from the Song dynasty onwards, but the red round box with a depiction of stepping on snow to search for plum blossoms, excavated from the Yuan Tomb in Qingpu County, Jiangsu Province, thought to have been made towards the end of the Yuan dynasty (mid-14th century), is an early example with a fairly clear date of production, with a fairly realistic depiction of an old man accompanied by a young boy stepping on snow to visit plum blossoms on the front of the lid. There are many surviving examples of lacquerware from this period in Japan, and representative examples include the incense tray with purple calyx motif (Shojuraigo-ji Temple, Shiga Prefecture), the incense tray with camellia-tailed longbird motif (Kori-in Temple), and the incense tray with peony and peacock motif (Daisen-in Temple, Kyoto), all of which are designated Important Cultural Properties. These designs are extremely realistic, and the relief carvings made using carved lacquer show a consideration for realism. Other outstanding artists of this period were Zhang Cheng and Yang Mao, both from Yanghui, Xitang, Jiaxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and in the early 15th century, Zhang Cheng's son Degang was active in carving red ware at the government-run workshop, the Fruit Garden Workshop. After that, the composition of the patterns became even more complex, with meaning being used in every detail, and decorative items with a high level of aesthetic appeal appeared based on unusual shapes and ideas, and from the 17th century onwards, during the Qing dynasty, designs aimed for even greater aesthetic appeal.

It was imported into Japan in large quantities during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods and was highly valued as a Chinese product, but one theory holds that it was first imitated by Choju the first of Tsuishu Yozei during the Enbun era (1356-61) of the Northern and Southern Courts period, and another theory holds that it was made by Monnyu, a tsuishu craftsman from Kyoto, during the Bunmei era (1469-87) in the middle of the Muromachi period. In addition, there are imitation methods such as Murakami Tsuishu from Niigata and Toka Tsuishu from Sendai, in which a design is carved into the base material and then vermilion lacquer is applied to it, eliminating the need to apply multiple layers of lacquer.

[Goka loyal retainer]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

彫漆(ちょうしつ)技法の一種。器胎(きたい)の上に朱漆(しゅうるし)を何層にも塗り重ね、その上に文様を浮彫りしたもの。黒漆を用いる場合は堆黒(ついこく)、ほかに堆黄(ついこう)、堆緑などがある。鎌倉時代に宋(そう)から舶載されたが、中国での名称は剔紅(てきこう)、剔黒、剔黄、剔緑という。また、塗り重ねた各色の漆の色を彫り表したものを彫彩漆(ちょうしつうるし)、花を朱、葉を緑で表したものは紅花緑葉(こうかろくよう)ともよばれる。文献上では唐代が起源とされ、また明(みん)代に著された『清秘閣』には、剔紅の多くは金銀を素地(きじ)とし、文様が人物楼閣花草であったことが記されている。制作の盛行は宋代以降であるが、元(げん)代末（14世紀中ごろ）の作と思われる江蘇(こうそ)省青浦(せいほ)県元墓出土の踏雪尋梅図剔紅円盒(えんごう)が制作年代のほぼ明らかな初期の作例で、蓋(ふた)表に、一老人が童子を従え、雪を踏んで梅を訪ねる図をかなり写生的に表している。この時代の堆朱器はわが国にもかなり遺例が多く、代表的なものにはいずれも重要文化財の紫萼(しがく)文香盆（滋賀県・聖衆来迎(しょうじゅらいごう)寺）、椿尾長鳥(つばきおながどり)文香盆（興臨院）、牡丹孔雀文香盆（京都・大仙院）などがある。これらの図様はきわめて写生的で、肉どりによる浮彫りにも写実的配慮がうかがわれる。またこの時期の優れた作家に浙江(せっこう)省嘉興(かこう)府西塘(さいとう)楊匯(ようわい)出身の張成と楊茂(ようも)がおり、15世紀初頭には張成の子の徳剛が官営工房の果園廠(しょう)で剔紅に活躍した。その後は文様の構成が一段と複雑になり、細部にわたって意が用いられ、変わった器形や着想のもとで鑑賞性に富む装飾的なものが出現、17世紀以降の清(しん)代にはさらに鑑賞性を目ざす造形へと進んだ。

　わが国では鎌倉・室町期に盛んに輸入され唐物(からもの)として珍重されたが、初めて模作したのは南北朝時代の延文(えんぶん)年間（1356～61）に堆朱楊成(ようぜい)の初代長充(ちょうじゅう)であるとする説、室町中期の文明(ぶんめい)年間（1469～87）に京都の堆朱工門入(もんにゅう)であるとする説がある。なお、漆を塗り重ねる手間を省くため素地に図柄を加工した上に朱漆を塗る模造法として、新潟の村上堆朱や仙台市の東華(とうか)堆朱などがある。

［郷家忠臣］

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