Lacquer Work Expert MIKI Sakae’s Activities in Thailand – Focusing on Materials from the Same Period – the 9th Seminar Held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems
As in Japan during the Meiji era, Thailand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries had foreign experts in various fields working for government agencies, some of them Japanese.
One such artist was MIKI Sakae (1884–1966), a graduate of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (presently Tokyo University of the Arts), Department of Lacquer Technology, who went to Thailand in 1911 to work for the Imperial Household Agency’s Technical Affairs Bureau (the predecessor to the current Art Bureau of the Ministry of Culture). Thereafter, he served as a teacher and principal of a national art school and was active in the field of lacquer work until 1947, when he returned to Japan. At the 9th seminar by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems held on March 2, 2023, FUTAGAMI Yoko (Head, Cultural Properties Information Section of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems) gave a presentation titled Lacquer Work Expert MIKI Sakae’s Activities in Thailand –- Focusing on Materials from the Same Period –.
Because of the above background, MIKI Sakae is often featured in the field of prewar Japanese – Thailand exchange. However, most references to his activities in Thailand were limited to large-scale projects, such as the production of the throne for the coronation of King Rama VI, which he was involved in immediately after his trip to Thailand, as well as palace repairs, and did not go into the details of his daily work. Therefore, we used mainly the recent status reports MIKI contributed to in the alumni magazine Monthly Bulletin of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts Alumni Association to decipher the work he was involved in on a daily basis.
From an article in Monthly Bulletin of the Alumni Association we learned that, in 1917, MIKI had decorated the king’s daily articles with gold or silver lacquer and employed other Japanese techniques, using an abundance of materials imported from Japan. On the other hand, it also shows that, during the same period, materials and techniques were modified to suit the objects to be decorated and the climate of Thailand. MIKI was accepted in Thailand because of his Japanese lacquer craft skills and flexible application as well as his serious attitude toward his work which, due in part to personnel cutbacks caused by administrative reforms, led him to take on important work, including supervision of large-scale construction projects. This presentation is an interim report on MIKI Sakae’s activities in Thailand and will be further discussed and compiled into a report.