Issou Wakasa Nuri Chopstick and Rest Set, Dream Daruma

At a glance

- Wakasa nuri (若狭塗) lacquerware, Ishida, Obama, Fukui Prefecture; a craft over 400 years old
- Dream daruma design; traditionally a daruma (達磨) shown with both eyes filled in marks a wish already granted
- Chopsticks 23cm; presented in a paulownia (kiri) wood gift box; chopstick rest is dishwasher safe

A daruma (達磨) doll is sold with both eyes left blank, and tradition has you paint one in when you make a wish, saving the second for the day it actually comes true. This set carries daruma already shown with both eyes filled in, a small sign that whatever was wished for arrived, making it less a symbol of striving and more one of arrival.

Wakasa nuri (若狭塗) lacquerware has been made in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, for over 400 years, using a technique that builds up dozens of layers of lacquer, sometimes inlaid with eggshell or gold leaf, then polished back to reveal a marbled pattern beneath the surface. Ishida's Issou (一双) line applies that same patient layering to a chopstick and rest pair, presented together in a paulownia (kiri) wood box, the material Japan has long trusted to protect fine and delicate things.