Tea container with rhinoceros hide spiral pattern

The lacquer artist Yamamura Shinya lives and works in the traditional cultural center of Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. Here, he combined age-old lacquer and inlay techniques with decorative twists to create this contemporary natsume, or tea container used for usucha, or “thin matcha (powdered green tea).” The exterior is masterfully decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay and multicolored lacquer, which have been burnished down to create a mottled surface using a technique known as saihi (literally, “rhinoceros hide”). The aquamarine hue and spiral, eddy-like pattern are suggestive of powerful ocean currents, which offer a cooling effect on a hot summer day.