Ibazen Urushi lacquered Japanese oak stool

A simple four legged stool with a handle cut into the seat for easy carrying. Made entirely by the hand of Iba Takahito in Biei City, close to Asahikawa amongst the forests and highlands of Hokkaido. The stool is made from Japanese oak, selected from local forests and finished with a hard fuki-urushi (wipe urushi) natural lacquer. With a knowledge of finishing garnered from his background in automotive restoration, Iba-san prefers a darkened workshop, using spot lamps to better read the form of the wood he works only with Japanese planes, and the smoothness of the slowly curing, notoriously difficult, lacquer. Total height about 48cm with a diameter across the seat of 30cm.