Bowl with legs

The term for this particular type of lacquerware is derived from the name of the Buddhist temple, Negoroji. The temple stood from 1288–1585 in today’s Wakayama Prefecture, and produced lacquered items for daily use for the nearly 6, 000 monks who, at its height, lived in the temple complex. However, the ware is more broadly defined as undecorated, high-quality red and black lacquered objects used in Buddhist temples from the Kamakura period (1185–1333) through to the Momoyama period (1573–1603). The example here is believed to come from an unidentified temple in Nara Prefecture, and would have been used to serve food or tea during the monks’ communal meals. Unlike the elaborately decorated maki-e pieces, negoro is valued for its worn quality. This is typified by the areas where the top layers of rich, cinnabar-derived red-colored lacquer have been rubbed away over time to show the undercoats of black lacquer.