URUSHI-DŌ – The Fascination of Japanese Lacquer Art

Urushi-Dō – the title of the new exhibition at the IFICAH Museum of Asian Culture initially raises the question of what it actually means. The subtitle „The Fascination of Japanese Lacquer Art“ may be of some help. Urushi, the lacquer of the Japanese lacquer tree, is a unique natural material whose processing has undergone virtually no modification for over 4000 years, and whose processing techniques have been declared a national cultural asset of Japan.

Many are familiar with terms from martial arts such as judō and kendō, or the term chadō from the tea ceremony. „Dō“ stands exclusively for something that can only be found in this form and consistency in the Japanese tradition: the path. The path that one takes with a clear goal in mind, a goal that one strives for, that one wants to achieve, but from which one moves further and further away the closer one seems to get to it. „Dō“, the Japanese path to mastery, means concentration, perseverance, dedication and an unlimited responsibility for what one does, a commitment not to oneself but to the task assigned to oneself or by a teacher.

The results of these techniques and demands are not only fascinating objects of art, they also captivate with their unique aesthetics. But these treasures are also very fragile, they react extremely to climatic influences such as light and humidity. The challenge of the exhibition concept was to implement the conservation requirements, the didactic introduction to the techniques and an aesthetic presentation that breaks completely new ground.