“Lacquer is not mere surface decoration; it is structure itself.”

— Gonroku Matsuda (松田 権六), Living National Treasure of lacquer art

Gonroku Matsuda (1896–1987) was one of the most important figures shaping how lacquer was understood in the 1970s–80s—not as ornament, but as a material philosophy. His ideas strongly influenced both traditional and experimental urushi artists during that period.