Togidashi Maki-e

Togidashi Maki-e 研出蒔絵 is a technique where the design is painted on the pen with urushi and metal powder is sprinkled on top. After hardening, several layers of urushi are applied over the sprinkled the design until the powder is submerged within the urushi.

Once cured, the urushi is sanded back to reveal the design, embedded within the urushi layers. As such, the surface is completely smooth in comparison to Hira and Taka Maki-e.

This method is commonly used for background details in more complex maki-e designs and often used in combination with both Hira and Taka maki-e works.