Raden

Raden is especially combined with maki-e – gold or silver lacquer sprinkled with metal powder as a decoration.

Bronze mirrors with luodian lacquer backs have been excavated from Tang tombs in Shanxian County and Luoyang, Henan Province.

The basic technique of luodian was introduced from the Tang dynasty into Japan during the Nara period, where it is referred to as raden, using the same Chinese characters.

In the Edo period, many pieces of Japanese lacquerware were exported to royalty and nobility in Europe through Dutch East India Company and private traders.

The lacquerware exported during the Edo period put more emphasis on artistic expression by maki-e using gold powder lavishly than raden.

[9] The raden works of a number of famous Edo period craftsmen are still celebrated, namely those of Tōshichi Ikushima, Chōbei Aogai, and the Somada brothers.

Shibayama -style writing box, Nagasaki, 1800–1850, wood covered with black lacquer and inlaid with flowers in under-painted mother-of-pearl shell.
Inlaid maki-e raden paper box with "wheels in flow" ( katawaguruma ) design, National Treasure , Heian period , 11–12th century, Tokyo National Museum
Inlaid maki-e raden writing box with "Eight Bridges" ( Yatsuhashi ) design, by Ogata Kōrin , National Treasure, Edo period , 18th century. The flowers are abalone shell inlays, Tokyo National Museum
Inrō , Design of minute patterns in mother-of-pearl inlay, Somada school characterized by a combination of raden and makie techniques, Edo period, 19th century, Tokyo National Museum