• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.22-44
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• 2022

Lacquer, in addition to high-end crafts such as lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl, was an important strategic material used in a wide range of fields such as industry, architecture, and munitions during the Japanese colonial era. In particular, as the demand for lacquer used in munitions soared in the 1940s when the war started, a ticket system was introduced to restrict its distribution. Meanwhile, Japan experienced a chronic shortage of lacquer as a result of the rapidly increasing demand for it, and thus went on to import Chinese lacquer after the late 19th century. After the 1910s, the market share of Chinese lacquer reached 90%, and the local situation in China began to affect the supply and demand for lacquer in Japan. To counteract the issue, the Japanese government increased the production of lacquer in Joseon. As for the project to increase lacquer production in Joseon, objective indicators were prepared through a number of tests in the 1910s and 20s, which paved the way for the project to begin in earnest in the 1930s. Lacquer trees were planted and training classes on how to collect lacquer were held throughout the country. The Japanese government promoted the lacquer production industry as a promising side job for Koreans. The project, implemented in various parts of the country, reaped fruitful results, and it provided the basis for lacquer production in Korea that has continued to this day. At that time, the major regions in the southern part of the country where the project was concentrated were Wonju, Okcheon, and Hamyang, regions that are still known today as major production sites. The improved method of collecting lacquer taught to Koreans by the Japanese has now become the main method of collecting lacquer in Korea. This study attempts to identify the current status of the project to increase lacquer production through various records from the Japanese colonial era with a view to contributing to the study of modern lacquer craft history.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.105-112
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• 2008

Grading of the urushi lacquer is quite difficult because of large variations depending on origin, growing conditions, time acquisition, storage conditions. It is urgently required to establish a grading system of urushi lacquer by combining traditional method with scientific methods. Traditional grading of urushi lacquer was done by visual inspection of 10 experts who are working on urushi lacquer industry. Common aspects of the experts were color, odor, viscosity, spread properties on Hanji, color and drying properties on glass based the traditional grading system. In addition, rubbing on Hannj and heating with alcohol lamp was also used to grade urushi lacquer. The grading results of 10 experts showed that chinese urushi lacquer (E) of 7.03, japanese urushi lacquer (C) of 6.84, domestic urushi lacquer of (A) of 6.41 and another chinese urushi lacquer (D) of 5.27, and domestic urushi lacquer (B) of 2.50 in descending order. The degree of spread on Hanji was not consistent among 10 experts. These results indicated that the traditional grading system was pretty much personal and required of developing more objective method based on scientific background.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2001

In this study, we obtained fundamental data about Korean raw lacquer's physical and chemical properties to produce high quality lacquer. The tested raw lacquers were obtained from Won-ju in Korea, Shanxishang, Guizhoushang, Anhuishang in China. The drying time of refining lacquers, tensile strengths of dried films and uniformity of films are measured. The refined lacquers were prepared by experimentally scaled refining equipment. Films of lacquer were applied on glasses by film applicator. This films were tested by universal strength test machine. The films were pictured by scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy to define the uniformity of them. The refining method were not different among three different kind of raw lacquers which were different their collecting time and places. But the viscosity of them were quite different. When black refined lacquer is made with iron powder, the adding time of iron powder is critical to control the viscosity of it. The refining times, viscosity and tensile strength of refined lacquers were not depended the method of refining condition but the place of collecting of raw lacquer.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.30
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• pp.47-70
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• 2023

In 2019, the first excavation survey was conducted at the Temple Site No. 4 of Yaksugok Vally in Namsan Mountain, Gyeongju to determine the original location of the headless stone Buddha statue and the structure of the temple site. The survey excavated a stone Buddha head that was confirmed in a comparative analysis to be petrologically and mineralogically identical to a headless stone seated Buddha statue found derelict nearby. Traces of gold leaf and black adhesive were found on a portion of the right side of the face of the Buddha head buried in the ground. Since it is exceedingly rare for lacquer and gilding techniques to have been applied to a large stone Buddha statue without a base layer, this study examines the gilding techniques of the time by analyzing the characteristics of the materials used. In this process, the structure of the gold foil was observed through analytical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and the gold (Au) component was identified. As a result of analyzing the black adhesive using pyrolysis-gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry (pyrolysis-GC/MS), pyrolysis compounds such as hydrocarbons, fatty acids, catechol, and catechol oxidation products were detected. This was identical to the characteristics identified upon analyzing lacquer collected from species of lacquer tree whose main component is urushiol. Therefore, it was confirmed that the stone Buddha head excavated from the Temple Site No. 4 of Yaksugok Valley was separated from a nearby stone seated Buddha statue, and that the gold foil was attached using lacquer sap collected from lacquer trees, which grow in Korea, China, and Japan.