Kintsugi 6 - How to make and use barley lacquer (Mugi-urushi)
Updated: Nov 3, 2023
Mugi lacquer is very important for Kintsugi, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the basic key. It is made by kneading wheat flour with water and then kneading it with raw lacquer. It acts as a natural glue to bond broken pottery pieces together.
It can also be used as a base for Kokuso to fill in the missing parts of the vessel.
Material
The materials needed to make barley lacquer are as follows. I have attached a link for your convenience when purchasing them.
Flour
Water
Raw lacquer（Amazon）
You will also need the following tools:
A surface plate is a workbench. Anything can be used, for example a clear file can be used as a surface plate.
The hinoki spatula is used for kneading. You can also use plastic instead of cypress, but I personally think wood is easier to use.
Ethanol is used to clean the surface plate and hinoki spatula. Ethanol is also used to wipe off dirt from dishes, so it is one of the tools you should have on hand.
How to make
1. First, wipe the surface plate and spatula thoroughly with ethanol.
2. Pour out as much flour as you need on the surface plate.
3. Add water little by little and mix with a spatula. As a guideline, it should be as hard as an earlobe.
A travel bottle like the one linked below is useful when adding water little by little. I use it too. It is very convenient to use not only water but also ethanol and other liquids.
4. Add raw lacquer and knead it further with a spatula. The standard is 1:1 ratio of kneaded wheat to raw lacquer. Take the raw lacquer to the side and mix it in little by little.
5. Once kneaded, spread it out flat and let it dry before using. The guideline for completion is when the color turns reddish-brown.
How to use
Mugi lacquer is used as an adhesive to hold the pieces together when repairing cracks. It is also used as a material to make kokuso, which is used to fill in missing parts.
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