Taiwanese Lacquerware Crafts under Japanese colonization
The old wrapping paper was collected by Lacquer Artist Huang, Li-Shu. | ||
Under the Japanese colonization, the most influential figure in the establishment of Taiwan’s lacquerware industry during Japanese colonization was Mr. Yamanaka Akira, director of the Taichung Institute for Crafts Education. Lacquerware is an indispensable utensil in Japanese life. Noting the abundance of timber resources in Taiwan, Mr. Yamanaka imported the lacquer tree from Vietnam in 1921. Mr. Yamanaka, owner of the very large restaurant “Royal Cuisine” in Taichung City, also brought his son-in-law, Mr. Kotani>, to Taiwan and established the Yamanaka Fine Arts and Lacquerware Craft Factory. They planned to manufacture lacquerware for sale to Japanese residents of Taiwan, as souvenir artifacts for Japanese tourists, and even for marketing in Japan. Eventually, Taichung’s municipal government realized the need for education in lacquer arts techniques in Taiwan. It then established the Taichung Craft Art School and appointed Yamanaka to administer it (1928). He designed the unique crafts by using local specialties, and through researching Taiwanese customs and antiquities, with their geographical locations. By collecting information from Taiwanese aborigines' carvings and other relics, regarding the origins and characteristics of the materials, with the relationship between the climate and crafts, he manufactured unique Lacquerware, which is believed to be the origins of the Taichung fine arts crafts. The picture shows that the then wrapping paper of the "Royal Cuisine" has lasted for eight decades, and still looks quite elegant. |