OKADA Akihito

Okada Akihito was a Japanese lacquer artist from Kagawa, known particularly for his use of kinma (or konjaku) and choshitsu. Kinma is a lacquer-inlay technique in which designs are incised into layers of lacquer and the recessed areas are filled with coloured lacquer before the surface is polished level. Choshitsu, or carved lacquer, involves carving designs into multiple layers of lacquer to reveal the coloured strata beneath. Okada studied lacquer techniques under Living National Treasure Isoi Nyoshin at the Kagawa Prefectural School of Arts and Crafts before moving to Kyoto after World War II. There, he became associated with two artists’ groups: Sojinsha, led by lacquer artist Banura Shogo, and the Shinkai Society, led by Tomimoto Kenkichi. Okada exhibited regularly at the Nitten (Japan Fine Arts Exhibition), receiving a Special Selection for a kinma work depicting snow willow, and he later became a Nitten member and judge. According to contemporary accounts, Okada’s works were generally built up using approximately 40 to 100 layers of lacquer. He frequently used a komasuki, a concave carving knife, to cut into the surface and expose the layers beneath. His works included boxes, trays, shelves and screens decorated with botanical and bird motifs, examples of which are now held in the collections of the Takamatsu Art Museum and the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.