Kobayashi Shikki

Lacquerware Artist

Takayuki Kobayashi, the fifth generation of the family, joined the family business straight after high school. They are craft makers of Tsugaru nuri, the traditional urushi lacquerware of the old castle town of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. He worked in all areas of the business, including sales, before learning the elaborate production of the local lacquerware style from his father. Masakazu Kobayashi, the sixth generation, initially worked for a larger company. After an internship within the family workshop he decided to continue the family tradition.

The company was founded around 1830, towards the end of the Edo period (1603–1868), by the ancestors of the Kobayashi family, and is now run by the Kobayashi couple and their son. The family tries to gently refine the traditional styles and to develop new products. They are supported by three employees in the complex painting, sanding and polishing of Tsugaru nuri goods.