Yamanaka Lacquerware Bud: Olive
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PRODUCT DETAILSA quiet bud, shaped for the tableShaped with the compact presence of an unopened bud, this olive-toned Yamanaka lacquerware vessel brings an organic silhouette to the table. Turned from natural kobus magnolia wood and finished with lacquer, its 65 mm diameter,...
PRODUCT DETAILS
Shaped with the compact presence of an unopened bud, this olive-toned Yamanaka lacquerware vessel brings an organic silhouette to the table. Turned from natural kobus magnolia wood and finished with lacquer, its 65 mm diameter, 38 mm height, and 15 g weight create a light, tactile object for small servings and considered moments.
USE & APPRECIATION
Hold Bud: Olive beside a simply arranged meal and take a moment to look at its surface. The dark olive lacquer sits quietly against white linen and pale ceramics, while the uneven rim gives the small vessel its own character. Its compact scale leaves room for the rest of the table.

Set aside a book and enjoy a quiet pause with the small vessel in hand. Against a navy cardigan and cream upholstery, its olive tones add a subtle change of color. The rounded body and gently shifting rim offer something to look at between reading and returning to the page.

Give the empty vessel a little room on a clean, dry indoor surface. A pale stone backdrop makes the dark olive body easy to follow from its curved base to the gently uneven rim. With few objects nearby, the variations across the lacquered surface become part of the quiet arrangement.

Pair the vessel with a light woven tablecloth and simple white plates for a softly colored meal setting. The olive finish supplies a darker point of interest among the pale surfaces. Straight chopsticks and the rounded vessel create a small contrast of lines, making each object easy to notice.

Place the empty vessel on a console for a brief moment of appreciation after use. Under warm lamplight, its olive tones sit between the darker wood and pale wall. Leave space around the rounded form so the changing rim and subtle surface variation remain visible within the larger room.

OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE

Handle the lacquered surface gently. Avoid prolonged submersion and direct sunlight, and do not scrub with hard materials. Do not use the vessel in a dishwasher, microwave, oven, or induction system; do not refrigerate or freeze it. Wash gently by hand and dry promptly with a soft cloth.
OBJECT PASSPORT
CRAFT HERITAGE
Yamanaka Lacquerware dates to the late 16th century, when a group of woodturners moved into the area in search of suitable timber and began shaping wood on lathes. The craft became established around Yamanaka Onsen.
By the middle of the Edo period, artisans were making everyday objects such as bowls and trays, as well as souvenirs for visitors to the hot-spring town. Lacquering and maki-e techniques were introduced in the early 19th century, laying the foundation for the raised Yamanaka taka-maki-e practiced today.
HOW IT’S MADE
Yamanaka Lacquerware is made through four principal stages: forming the wooden body, preparing the foundation, applying the final lacquer coat, and adding maki-e decoration.
Properly dried wood and precise turning help prevent distortion.
Although the foundation is hidden in the finished piece, it supports both the vessel's strength and the quality of the final lacquer surface.
The lacquer is built up through repeated coating and sanding, with curing carefully managed in response to humidity and weather.
MEET THE MAKER
MAKER · YAMANAKA, ISHIKAWA
YUIYU brings together the perspective of floral design and the accumulated skills of Yamanaka lacquerware. Its official concept describes organic forms learned from nature and new experiments in color, expressed as wooden lacquerware for contemporary interiors and daily life.

Naoko Tanabe is the floral designer behind YUIYU. She developed the brand to connect the traditions of Yamanaka with contemporary life, and to bring attention to the people whose work is often present in an object but absent from its story.
During the brand's development, Tanabe traveled repeatedly between Tokyo and Yamanaka Onsen. Color and form were not settled on paper alone. They were refined through prototypes and conversations with the craftspeople who understood how different woods, tools, and layers of lacquer would respond. When a color appeared uneven or brighter than intended, or a shape needed to work better in the hand, the design returned to the workshop for another round of judgment.
Yamanaka lacquerware is built through specialized work. One person may turn the wooden form on a lathe; others may refine lacquer, prepare the ground, or apply and wipe successive layers. YUIYU makes that collaboration part of the story rather than hiding it behind a single name.
Rokuro-biki, or lathe turning, gives the wood its balanced form. Fine sensuji lines may be cut into a rotating surface, creating rhythm through minute, repeated grooves. With fuki-urushi, lacquer is applied and carefully wiped back in repeated stages, allowing the grain of the wood to remain visible. The apparent simplicity of the finished object rests on a sequence of specialized decisions.
The name YUIYU repeats the Japanese character *yui*—to bind or connect. It expresses a wish to connect people, nature, culture, and the skills held in Yamanaka Onsen. The aim is not to make tradition appear modern by removing its history. It is to create a new reason for that history to remain in use: at the table, in a room, and in the rituals of everyday life.
Distance becomes smaller when the collaboration remains visible. Portraits and workshop photographs show the people and place behind YUIYU, while views of turning, sensuji carving, and fuki-urushi explain how specialist skills meet in one object. Together they make the brand’s division of labor visible without reducing the work to a single name.
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