Zokoku Tamakaji

Place: Takamatsu City

Born: 1806

Death: 1869

Biography:

Tamakaji Zokoku was a Japanese lacquer artist of the late Edo period. He developed an innovative decoration technique for urushi lacquerware and established a distinctive Tamakaji style based on traditional techniques. He studied and imitated urushi ware imported from China and Southeast Asia, assimilating makie lacquerware techniques to create a unique Japanese style. Zokoku was born in Takamatsu City, Kagawa, and had seen lacquerware works from various countries in the collections of Higashi-honganji Temple and Daitokuji Temple, which stimulated his desire to create. He later returned to Takamatsu with knowledge of lacquerware techniques and was appointed by Matsudaira Yorihiro to manage and supervise items in the domain's treasury.