Our museum tells the history of Kawatsura lacquerware.
You can see and touch a variety of the products here.
We highly recommend you to visit here.
Shop space, 498.35 square meters,
which is the largest showroom in the region.
The exhibition and shop space, featuring products produced by members of our cooperative, has a wide variety of items, with over 800 pieces available at all times. From tableware such as chopsticks and bowls, to trays, tables, and chests of drawers, you are sure to find the piece you’ve been looking for. We take pride in offering quality you can trust and the widest selection in the prefecture.
We showcase the history that has been built by artisans
who have supported each other in the small town within a radius of 2 kilometers.
Every production process from wood working to coating, chinkin and makie is completed in the town of Kawatsura, where manufacturing based on the expertise of the local community is still alive and well. It has a long history of 800 years. In the Edo period, the industry expanded its market through production of daily utensils such as bowls, trays, and tiered boxes. Luxurious decorations, chinkin and makie were added. In the modern era, the industry has supported the regional economy. This is an exhibition space where you can experience the history.
Techniques such as chinkin and makie, which imbue products with an aesthetic touch, enhance the beauty of lacquerware by directly transferring the qualities of materials like lustrous gold leaf onto the lacquerware itself.
The delicate technique called Kebori that involves carving a pattern onto the surface of lacquerware, embedding raw urushi, and setting gold leaf on it is a distinctive decorative technique that is a specialty of Kawatsura lacquerware.
You can experience the art of makie, drawing the pattern following the lines of the draft sketch, sprinkling dust on the surface, and adding fine details such as veins of leaves using a makie brush.
Yuzawa-shi Kawatsura-shikki Dento-kogei-kan
(Yuzawa City Kawatsura Lacquerware Traditional Crafts Museum)
OPEN:Fri-Wed 9:00-17:00
Close: Thu
New Year hours: Closed from Dec 31 to Jan 5.
142-1 Aza-Odate Nakano, Kawatsura-cho, Yuzawa-shi, Akita, JAPAN
TEL+81(183)42-2410