WAJIMA, Ishikawa Prefecture--The Noto Peninsula earthquake dealt a severe blow to the production of Wajima-nuri traditional lacquerware, which is designated an important intangible cultural heritage.

The disaster has affected all establishments related to creating the lacquerware, throwing doubt on when production can resume.

NO RESTART IN SIGHT

Kunie Komori, 78, a lacquer artist designated as a living national treasure and whose real name is Kunihiro, was shocked to see the state of his workshop on the second floor on Jan. 2 after returning from city hall, where he had evacuated.

There was no place to step as works in progress for an exhibition were scattered and lacquer for undercoating was spilled across the floor.

Komori said that even if he reapplies lacquer to the damaged works, they are unsellable because the lacquer will only thin out in the damaged areas.

“We can re-create the ruined crafts, but the process of creating Wajima-nuri is shared among a group of people, so I don’t know how the wood-processing workshop is going to resume operations,” Komori said.

Wajima-nuri was developed after a technique for mixing local diatomaceous earth into lacquer was invented in the mid-Edo Period (1603-1867) to create durable lacquerware.

As production expanded, the work was divided up by the late Edo Period, such as undertaking the wood processing, undercoating with lacquer and doing decorating techniques such as “makie” (sprinkling gold or silver) and “chinkin” (gold inlay).

Creating lacquerware involves more than 100 processes, with each having a specialized artisan involved. If one is missing, the work cannot be completed.

According to the Wajima Lacquerware Commerce and Industry Cooperative Association, which consists of businesses that coordinate these artisans and handle process management and sales, all 103 of its member establishments were damaged in the earthquake.

More than half of the buildings are believed to have either completely or partially collapsed.

Asaichi-dori street, one of Japan’s largest morning markets, was engulfed in fire following the earthquake. It is estimated that 12 establishments were affected, but the full extent of the damage remains unknown.

“The system for manufacturing and selling Wajima lacquerware has been destroyed,” said Kensei Sumi, 66, secretary-general of the association.

GROWING SUPPORT

Another concern is that skilled workers might leave the area.

Trainees from across the country come to the Ishikawa prefectural Wajima lacquer technical training institute, which Komori heads.

After the earthquake, the institute confirmed the safety of 37 trainees and 60 staff and instructors, but at least 10 trainees’ apartments and houses were completely or partially destroyed.

For the time being, classes are suspended.

“I want to re-create an environment where trainees can return and learn the techniques,” Komori said.

However, many of the approximately 1,000 artisans in the city have been affected, with many relying on their relatives and acquaintances and evacuating to Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, and Toyama Prefecture.

The institute said some elderly artisans stated that they will never return to Wajima.

“I’m concerned that there won’t be anyone left to carry on the techniques,” Komori said. “The full revival of Wajima-nuri may take at least a year or even longer.”

Support for restoring the Wajima-nuri industry is growing, however.

The factory and office of the 200-year-old Taya Shikkiten lacquerware store were also destroyed in the earthquake.

A gallery on Asaichi-dori street, which was scheduled for completion by late January, burned down in front of Takahiro Taya, 32, the 10th-generation owner.

Since then, Taya has received many encouraging messages on his smartphone, such as “I love the Taya Shikkiten store” and “I like Wajima-nuri.”

“We will never give up. No matter what happens, we will all work together to rebuild and restart as a Wajima-nuri manufacturer,” he said.

On Jan. 2, Taya started a crowdfunding campaign to help rebuild not only his store but his fellow lacquerware shops. The crowdfunding website is at (https://readyfor.jp/projects/tayashikki).

As of Feb. 17, more than 58 million yen ($386,100) has been raised.

“We want to make the industry even more attractive so that people want to visit Noto Peninsula for Wajima-nuri,” Taya said.

To support them, Daisaku Yoshimura, 43, the president of the Osaka-based consulting firm Next Age, launched a project to rebuild the Wajima-nuri workshops.

After seeing Taya’s messages on his store’s website, Yoshimura immediately contacted him.

The project will continue until the end of February to raise funds for the construction costs of the workshops and the purchase of a set of tools.

If production resumes, Yoshimura plans to help expand sales channels.

Details of Yoshimura’s project can be seen at (https://www.mirai-koubou.club/)

The government has also decided to subsidize up to 10 million yen per case to support the revival of traditional crafts industries affected by disaster, including Wajima-nuri.

The subsidy can cover up to three-quarters of the necessary costs for the procurement of tools and raw materials.

Following this, the Ishikawa prefectural government opened a one-stop consultation service for establishments on Jan. 26.

(This article was written by Takumi Terui and Tatsuya Harada.)