Mitsuda-e (a kind of oil painting) (密陀絵)

The term "Mitsuda-e" refers to a kind of painting technique. It also refers to a painting drawn with this technique.

Summary

The term referred to a technique to decorate a lacquer ware by using Mitsuda-so (lead monoxide) as a desiccant in the early-modern times. However, since the Meiji period, it has referred to an art object which was created in or before the early Heian period by using the technique introduced from the Chinese continent in the Nara period and has been handed down. It enables a craftsman to express a variety of colors such as white, light colors, etc., which can hardly be expressed by colored lacquer.

Yuga (a kind of oil painting with pigments mixed with Mitsuda-yu oil)

The term "Yuga" refers to a kind of oil painting with pigments mixed with Mitsuda-yu oil. It remains in Tamamushi-no-Zushi (the "Beetle Shrine" of Horyu-ji), Tachibana Fujin Zushi (Tachibana Shrine), etc.

Yushoku (a technique to add luster to a painting by putting oil on its surface)

The term "Yushoku" refers to a technique of mixing glue with pigments for painting, after which Mitsuda-yu oil is used to coat the surface of the painting to add luster. It can be observed in the Shoso-in treasures, etc.

[Original Japanese]