Box for tanzaku with design in zonsei. “In the twinkling of an eye”

Zonsei

In zonsei lacquerwork, the outlines of colored motifs are engraved to produce additional decorative effects. Typically, one of two techniques is used. In the first, the artisan applies the motifs in colored lacquer before using a carving tool called a zonsei ken to incise the outlines of the design or add decorative line engravings. In the second, the artisan creates motifs using the kinma technique, which are then outlined or engraved in the same fashion. Zonsei, like carved lacquer (chōshitsu) and kinma, is a technique associated primarily with Takamatsu in Kagawa prefecture.