Spinning Top Two Tiers Round Jubako Bento Box

This colorful two-tiered Jubako Bento box is decorated with "Koma(spinning top)-nuri" and "Tame-nuri," two of Yamanaka Lacquerware's distinctive features.

"Koma-nuri (spinning top lacquring)" was popular among the common people in the mid-Edo period and refers to an eye-catching, multicolored lacquering technique. The result looks like Japanese spinning tops, which are said to bring good luck, and this lavishly colored design is perfect for festive banquets such as New Year's.

"Tame-nuri" is a lacquerware technique in which a middle coat of lacquer is applied and then polished with a coat of tame-nuri lacquer, so that the more time passes, the more transparent and vivid the base color becomes. Since the lacquer is a transparent candy-colored lacquer, the color of the visible lacquer will vary depending on the color of the lacquer used for the base.

The evenly spaced lines are a characteristic decoration of Yamanaka lacquerware. This decorative method is called "suji-biki," in which fine lines are made parallel to the surface of the wood by applying a blade to the wood while the lathe is turning.

Yamanaka lacquerware, also known as Yamanaka Shikki, is a lacquerware produced in the Yamanaka Onsen (hot spring) district of Kaga, Ishikawa prefecture. This lacquerware is unique in that it blends the natural elegance of the wood grain with the elegant maki-e technique of sprinkling gold, silver, or other colored powder onto a lacquer painting.

With its beautiful wood texture, delicate and robust Yamanaka Lacquerware is evolving day by day, incorporating a modern sense of design while inheriting a tradition that has lasted for 400 years.