• Jihei’s craft was passed down to him from his grandfather
• He carries out the entire making process, from woodturning to lacquering
• He seeks contemporary expressions and new approaches in urushiware

Jihei Murase’s grandfather was a fifth-generation woodturner who mastered the entire creation process behind lacquered works, urushiware. His son continued the craft, making it a family tradition. As the third generation in this line, since 1980, Jihei has explored new approaches to urushi lacquering, transforming it from something inherently Japanese to something with universal relevance in its beauty. He compares each phase of the creative making journey to the Japanese concept of 'shu-ha-ri' – obey, break, depart. "I have followed in the steps of my forefathers as I work at turning wood on the lathe, lacquering my pieces, and like my father, focus on creating Japanese tableware. But in my interpretation, I have departed from these traditions, too," explains Jihei. It was his encounter with tea culture and connoisseurs that opened his creative path to new approaches. Today, his works, with their universal appeal and context, are collected and exhibited internationally.