I am a TSUGARU-Nuri craftsman in Aomori Prefecture.
TSUGARU-Nuri is made of hiba (cypress) wood, which is repeatedly coated with lacquer and polished with a whetstone, a process that takes about 50 steps.
The result is a beautifully massive and intricately patterned object.
It is a technique that requires a lot of patience because the patterns are not painted on top of the lacquer.
I became fascinated with TSUGARU-Nuri when I participated in a project to foster successors, and after completing my apprenticeship, I became independent 15 years ago.
I continue to research new TSUGARU-Nuri while passing on the technique.