t the art of
creating the fine old lacquer that they used formerly," we say. But it
is not so at all; it is purely a question of time. If the Japanese were
allowed sufficient leisure, and were not rushed on so by the
requirements of the European market, they would be able to turn out just
as fine and just as durable lacquer as they did in the days when they
worked for the love of their work alone for purchase by their
fellow-countrymen. Practical proof of this can be found in the fact that
all the doors in my London house, which are composed of the best
lacquer, twenty or thirty coats thick, and have been in constant use for
years, are still in perfect condition, and will be two hundred years
hence. One has no idea before going to Japan of the extensive range of
colours in the way of greens, blues, and reds that there is in lacquer,
for most of the colours are entirely unknown in the West. There is
undoubtedly no surface in the world that is as clear and as brilliant as
lacquer, and I have often thought how advantageous it would be if one
could only lacquer pictures over instead of varnishing them; it would
give to the poorest work a brilliancy and crispness that would be simply
invaluable. But this brilliant surface is only brought about by
excessive care and cleanliness in its preparation--indeed, it needs
almost as much attention as the making of a collotype plate.

I was anxious to get some really good cloisonne workers to make some
things for me, and by very good luck I hit upon a man who had just
discovered an entirely new method of handling gold. Coming across one of
his samples at an exhibition in Tokio, I ferreted him out and persuaded
him to engage for me. His cloisonne, unlike the ordinary slate-grey work
that one must needs peer closely into before discovering its fine
qualities, was bold in design, with flower patterns of cherry-blossom
just traceable through a fine lacework of gold, and it looked like a
brilliant rainbow-hued bubble. One is much inclined to fancy that
cloisonne vases with elaborate designs must necessarily be expensive.
That, however, is not the case. There are technical obstacles connected
with making broad sweeps of colour in cloisonne that render simple
designs much more expensive. Japan is the only place in the world that
is capable of producing cloisonne, for the patience and skill required
would overtax the workers of any other country, and such an attempt
would necessarily end in fa