Maki-e (Sprinkled-Gold Lacquer)

Maki-e (蒔絵, literally “sprinkled picture”) is Japan’s most common decorative technique for shikki. An artisan paints a design directly onto a piece using wet urushi as the adhesive, then sprinkles fine gold or silver powder over it before the lacquer cures. Once the base coat hardens, additional coats of clear lacquer are often applied over the metallic design and then polished back, sealing the decoration into the surface rather than leaving it sitting on top.

Because the design is built from soft, sprinkled metallic dust rather than a hard engraved line, maki-e reads as lush and painterly, well suited to pictorial scenes, flowers, and other dense imagery. It’s the technique most people picture when they think of gold-decorated Japanese lacquerware, and it contrasts with the sharper, engraved look of chinkin.