青森県の伝統工芸品（津軽塗）

「津軽の馬鹿塗り」の異名をもつほど手間と時間をかけて丁寧につくられる逸品「津軽塗」

津軽塗はおよそ300年前の津軽藩四代藩主信政の時代に津軽藩召し抱えの塗師池田源兵衛によって始められたと伝えられている。江戸時代には津軽藩の保護・育成の下、主に藩の調度品として用いられた。明治初期に産業として確立後は人々に親しまれる愛玩品として幅広く使われている。
津軽塗の代表格である唐塗はヒバの素地から塗り・研ぎ・磨きを繰り返し、48もの長い工程を経て完成される堅牢優美な塗物である。唐塗だけではなく七々子塗・紋紗塗・錦塗の伝統的な4つの技法が現在まで受け継がれている。さらに現代風のアレンジを加えて多彩な紋様を生み出すことができる。昭和50年に国の伝統的工芸品として産業指定。平成29年に重要無形文化財として技術指定され、津軽塗技術保存会が保持団体認定を受けた。


Highly-prized type of Tsugaru Lacquerware that goes by the unusual name of Tsugaru “Baka-nuri” (crazy lacquering) due to the time and work that goes into the lacquering process

It is said that Tsugaru Lacquerware was started by the lacquer master, Genbee Ikeda, about 300 years ago under the employment of the Tsugaru domain during the reign of Nobumasa, the fourth lord of the Tsugaru clan. It was mainly used for furnishings in the domain under the protection and cultivation of the Tsugaru clan during the Edo period. It was established as an industry at the beginning of the Meiji period, from when it became widely known and used for prized objects.
The most famous of the Tsugaru Lacquerware style, “Kara-nuri” is robust but elegant lacquer, going through an incredible 48 step processes before it is completed. Such processes include repeatedly lacquering, grinding and polishing the cypress wood material. In addition to “kara-nuri”, there are also “nanako-nuri”, “monsha-nuri” and “nishiki-nuri”, and these four traditional methods continue to the present day. Also, a wide variety of patterns can be created by adapting modern styles. The industry was designated as a national traditional craft in 1975. The crafting technique was designated as an important intangible cultural property in 2017, and The Association for the Preservation of Tsugaru Lacquerware Techniques　received official preservation group certification from the Japanese government.