Tsugaru-nuri artisans use earthquake-affected Wajima lacquerware for recovery project

The civic group ‘Tsugaru Urushi Ren’ in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, is advancing a project titled ‘Wajima to Tsunagaru’ (Connecting with Wajima) to support recovery efforts following the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The initiative utilizes unfinished Wajima-nuri lacquerware bases that were left without a destination due to the disaster.

Eighteen young Tsugaru-nuri artisans are currently working on these bases, which include approximately 1,553 items such as trays, bowls, and tiered boxes donated by a lacquerware shop in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture. The artisans are applying traditional Tsugaru-nuri techniques to these pieces to create new, finished works.

The completed items will be exhibited and sold at a special corner of the ‘Urushi Renten’ exhibition at the Hirosaki Municipal Hyakushoku-cho Exhibition Hall from September 27 to November 1. Ten percent of the sales proceeds will be donated to the Wajima Lacquerware Industrial Cooperative to aid in the region's reconstruction.