Kiku Serving Plate Shaku — a large Hidehira-nuri plate with painted chrysanthemums and gold-leaf diamonds on black

Why this plate

This is a large serving plate from Marusan Shikki, 305 mm across, made for the middle of a shared table. The wide, flat well takes a whole dish at once: fruit or sweets for several people, a spread of sushi, a salad, or a rice dish, and the low rim keeps everything in place without getting in the way of serving. Between meals, a plate this size holds its own on a stand or a shelf, where the black lacquer and the gold catch the light of the room.

The pattern

Hidehira-nuri is a lacquer tradition from near Hiraizumi in Iwate, built on gold leaf and hand-painted motifs over a lacquer ground. This plate carries both. A spray of chrysanthemums is painted by hand across the left of the well, white and yellow-gold flowers on red stems, with red leaves and long grasses trailing between them. Three cloud shapes in reddish-brown lacquer sit around the well, two along the lower half and one high on the right, each carrying diamonds and crossed bars of gold leaf in the yūsoku-hishi manner, with a few small squares of gold leaf scattered between them. Kiku means chrysanthemum, and Shaku gives the size in the old Japanese measure, one shaku, a little over 30 cm.

The workshop

Marusan Shikki has worked in Hidehira-nuri since 1904, from a workshop in Ichinoseki now in its fifth generation. The plate is turned from tochi, Japanese horse chestnut, and then built up by hand in lacquer before the gold leaf and the painted motifs go on.

What to know before you buy

As with any urushi lacquerware, wash by hand in lukewarm water with a mild detergent, and keep it away from the microwave and dishwasher. For the first two to three months, start with lukewarm rather than very hot food or drink so the lacquer settles in gradually. Dry with a soft cloth, skip long soaking, and store away from direct sunlight.

Details

Sold as a single plate. It measures W305 × D305 × H35 mm and weighs about 530 g. The same design is also made in a larger, 330 mm size, and the photographs are shared between the two, so please go by the measurements when choosing. Made to order and shipped from Japan via DHL, with a lead time of approximately two months.

If a plate this size would earn its place at your table, you can order it below. Any questions on sizing or care are welcome; we read and answer every message ourselves.