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Cigar Long KATANA　

Cigar Long CRACKS of THE HELL

The image is one of a monster breaking free from being locked up and checking to see if it’s alright to emerge to the outside world. This pen has been finished with what is known as “Shu Koboku”. The irregularities in the surface are first made using Urushi. Another thin layer of Urushi is then added. It is finished with Fuki-Urushi after sprinkling and affixing a Shu(red) pigment.

Cigar Long TENNYO NO HAGOROMO　

The motif is a scene from the legend “Robe of a Celestial maiden”, which is known for Noh performances and etc. The black base is sprinkled with kirigane and flat gold powders. And the rob is drawn giving it height and a sharp three-dimensional effect. The pine trees are drawn with tsukegaki technique to create a sense of perspective by making them appear to be behind the robe. The ground, clouds, etc. are expressed with Togidashi Maki-e to finish smoothly. The detailed depictions of the feathers and pines, and the delicate patterns of the musical instruments harmonize with the background, giving it a sparkling and classy beauty.

Cigar Long JUROJIN　

The motif is Jurojin who is the same god as Fukurokuju, one of the Seven Lucky Gods, known as the Taoist god of longevity. He has a long head, holds a scroll in his hand, and is accompanied by a crane which is said to be a symbol of eternal youth.
The base is Nashiji, and the Jurojin is drawn with gold, silver, and blue gold maki-e technique after Gin-yuji piling up. The crane is drawn in the same way, and black lacquer is applied to a part of its feather and adding streaks by gold. The mountains are polished with gold, and the valleys are polished with silver, and then add overlay drawings with gold for both. The details of such as the patterns on the clothes are drawn very delicately to create a gorgeous and delicate finish.

Cigar Long DAIMYO PROCESSION　

This is a masterpiece of makie. It incorporates a highly detailed design.
The length of the traditional procession is at about 150mm in which 29 men, two horses and a kago (special palanquin used for carrying a daimyo) are drawn.
In about 2mm of space, a person’s face has been expressed in harigaki (engraving in lacquer with a needle), while in a millimeter space the string of straw sandals are drawn on their feet, bordering the outline in gold.
Each person’s face has different expressions, which makes the pen unique.

Cigar Long KINGFISHER

The motif is a kingfisher flying over a field of reeds.
The base is painted black with a gold gradation from the center outward. By scattering flat gold powder on the top and raden on the bottom, it might look like the starry sky is reflected on the water surface. The kingfisher is vividly painted using colored urushi lacquer and gold powder. The reeds are drawn with gold and black urushi lacquer to give them some depth. The color of the kingfisher stands out against the gold and black, creating a very beautiful finish.

Cigar Long SPERM WHALE & GIANT SQUID　

The design on this pen represents a fight between a sperm whale and a giant squid unfolding in the deep sea.

The whale is finished with Sumiko and the squid with Taka-Makie.

This provides a wonderful contrast, which is further accented by a stream of water in Raden.

Cigar Long OWL & MOON

The black background without blurring clearly highlights the owl motif.

Cigar Long OWL

Kuro-roiro(black) is used for the base so that the gold color stands out. The owl motif is drawn with the Gin-yuji pile up technique and the gold Maki-e technique.
Because Raden(mother-of-pearl) are used for the eyes, the color of the owl’s eyes may look different depending on how the light reflects.
The grasses are expressed with a polishing technique that uses gold Maki-e on iro urushi (colored lacquer).

Cigar Long DESERT MOON

An exotic landscape is depicted in maki-e.
This work effectively combines simple techniques.
The ground and the night sky are finished with different sizes of polished gold nashiji ground, and a trading party of camels going through the desert is represented by yako maki-e.