(lit., " parquet work") is a type of traditional

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case fur ...

developed in

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

in the town of . Resembling a type of

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

, is created through the combination of fine oblong rods of wood chosen for their grain, texture and colour, and is well-known for its intricately patterned nature. A number of different types of wood are used in the creation of . Both the spindle tree (''

Euonymus ''Euonymus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the staff vine family, Celastraceae. Common names vary widely among different species and between different English-speaking countries, but include spindle (or spindle tree), burning-bush, strawb ...

'' spp.) and ''

Ilex macropoda ''Ilex macropoda'' is a species of flowering plant in the holly family Aquifoliaceae, native to southern China, Korea, and Japan. A deciduous tree typically tall, it is found in mixed forests, forest edge A woodland edge or forest edge is the t ...

'' are used for the colour white; aged wood from the tree (''

Cercidiphyllum japonicum ''Cercidiphyllum japonicum'', known as the katsura (from its Japanese name カツラ, 桂), is a species of flowering tree in the family Cercidiphyllaceae native to China and Japan. It is sometimes called ''caramel tree'' for the light caramel sm ...

'') for is used for black; '' Picrasma quassioides'', mulberry ('' Morus alba'') and the Chinese lacquer tree (''

Toxicodendron vernicifluum ''Toxicodendron vernicifluum'' (formerly ''Rhus verniciflua''), also known by the common name Chinese lacquer tree, is an Asian tree species of genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to China and the Indian subcontinent, and cultivated in regions of ...

'') are used for yellow; the camphor tree (''

Cinnamomum camphora ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...

'') and ''

Maackia ''Maackia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. There are about 12 species, all native to eastern Asia, with six endemic to China.Juglans nigra ''Juglans nigra'', the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south ...

'') for purple, the Japanese cucumber tree (''

Magnolia obovata ''Magnolia obovata'', the Japanese cucumber tree,Kayano, S. (2014). ''Ainu Tools''. Biratori: Yuideku Co., Ltd. Japanese bigleaf magnolia, or Japanese whitebark magnolia, is a species of ''Magnolia'', native to Japan and the adjacent Kurile Isla ...

'') for blue and Chinese cedar ('' Toona sinensis'') for red. The rods are glued together to form large sections of the desired geometric pattern, which is often called a seed plate, before either being sliced into thin layers (in the technique), which are then glued onto boxes and other handicraft works. Alternatively, the entire plate can be carved out (in the technique) to create a single piece. To add to the glaze and sturdiness of the surface, finishing coatings of

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be c ...

are applied. is commonly found on the outside of traditional Japanese secret boxes or

puzzle box A puzzle box (also called a secret box or trick box) is a box that can be opened only by solving a puzzle. Some require only a simple move and others a series of discoveries. Modern puzzle boxes developed from furniture and jewelry boxes with ...

es, but may also be used to create or decorate many other items, such as trays, chests, jewelry boxes, vases, photo frames and drink coasters.

External links

Collection Ruth und Clemens Stupperich
Yosegi - collection (catalogue) {{Woodworking Surface decorative techniques in woodworking Japanese art Edo period Japanese words and phrases

See also

External links