When I was in Japan this past month, again I was given a lot of cultural gifts, such as kimono, kasuri fabric, hankies with sakura blossoms, etc.
As much as I appreciate these presents, it became time for me to start rearranging a few things around our home. While reorganizing my collectibles, I found this Yosegi-zaiku parquetry box. I would have just moved it aside, if I had not read an article about this special skill just a few days before.
Yosegi-zaiku parquetry is a craft combining colors and grains of wood to create mosaics.
The different types of wood used are macropoda holly, zelkova, lacquer tree, or camphor tree.
The very first yosegi-zaiku is said to have been made by the artist Ishikawa Nihei of the Hakone region in Kanagawa Prefecture in the later part of the Edo period.
This traditional craft is done by Japanese with a deep understanding of the nature of wood.