Rhus brand
Rhus is the word derived from urushi tree in Latin.
Rhus brand brings the natural taste to your lifestyle,
in harmony with nature.
In Duco, we use 100% natural urushi lacquer for our products. The refined texture and the unique pattern it makes bring power and elegance to people and space, in total harmony with nature.
Urushi lacquerware enhances refinement by continuous use of it. Using them generation to generation, you will also pursue the elegance and richness in the style of living.
Urushi has been used in life and culture of Japan for 9000 years, and it is still known as the craft representative of Japan.
However, due to the change in lifestyle, demand for lacquerware has decreased, and its industry is now drastically declining.
For 25 years, we had worked as a specialist in repairing lacquerware in Tama City, suburb of Tokyo, and were keen to convey the urushi culture.
We discovered through repairing job that we could utilize in modern life the excellent lacquering techniques of the late Edo period . Therefore, in 2003, we established Duco Co., Ltd. and started developing new base materials fit for urushi lacquer.
We started to focus on the base material for coating lacquer to find something other than wood we had used so far. After repeating chemical experiments,we finally succeeded in developing the completely new lacquer materials in which the properties of both urushi and the base blend. That is, transparent material such as glass/acrylic onto urushi. Or, metal such as titanium onto urushi. Not a simple "lacquer + base" product but a new lacquer material both in function and design.
Developing the new base material of glass, acrylic, titanium, engineered stone or optical lenses enabled us to discover the new designs that genuine natural urushi brings.
With them the target of use were also expanded and varied, leading way to modern architecture, room interior designing, or to art.
It also expanded the new sales channels, and now helps to find paths for urushi lacquer industry in new field different from traditional craft.
While we respect the value and the quality of urushi lacquerware as traditional craft, we have been aiming to encourage the demand of urushi products in daily life.
After having developed materials other than wood, we started to collaborate with companies from different industries, and succeeded in sharing the value of urushi culture with their products.
The representative is the golf club set of Majesty Golf & Co., Ltd., a golf manufacturer in Tokyo.
The club head was lacquered and decorated with hand-drawn maki-e.
It was introduced as traditional Japanese technique and sold in Taiwan, India, China and Korea.
The natural motif that lacquer produces on glass is rich in strength that can never be ignored.
It can be used in a wide range of field from house interior, furniture, decoration to small accessories.
Single or several layered of acrylic plates, applied urushi and silver foil in between.
It can be cut and shaped into several three-dimensional forms so that they bring quite a unique hue and a new taste of material.
It can be processed the same as acrylic, making it possible to shape doorknobs, furniture parts or accessories.
By combining lightweight and corrosion-resistant titanium with lacquer, the texture and touch as close as to the warmth of woods will be perceived. Also, the unique gloss of titanium adds to the whole space the special sensation of depth.
This was completely a new attempt to make maki-e with titanium powder and grain, and anodize it. Thus we succeeded in bringing out the color of ancient hue that could not be attained before, to make the titanium product artistic.
Transparent PVC sheet, coated with urushi and silver foil, that you can easily cut with scissors.
Two types with or without adhesive on one side.
・Those with adhesives can be attached on transparent materials.
・Those without adhesive are easy to be rolled, cut out, or can be hung on a window side or in an open space.
As the lacquered part is transparent while the foil part shines bright, it will give the effect of three-dimensional depth.
This product was nominated as the authorized good for trial order by Machida City, Tokyo 2017
Glass or optical lens decorated with traditional maki-e. By the use of thick glass in shape of cylinder or pillar, as well as flat plate, the maki-e on the cubic surfaces brings perspective effect.
In tea ceremony, we have made in the space of 2 tatami mats, a small world, where we can feel the four seasons, the nature and the universe through the transition of seasons or light of day and night.
Duco's ”Ice-Light” conveys the concept of ”creating cosmic space” pursued in tea ceremony, and creates the world through lighting. This is how we inherit the culture of tea ceremony.
Photo: ”Ice-Light”, optical glass table light, whose four sides are decorated with traditional maki-e. The pictures are lit up from inside by LED light installed at the base.
Inheriting traditional beauty and technique, we created a new expression of cubic art with distant landscape and nearby scenery. A small world inside the glass.