I bought urushi ware bowls, is it true they are made from poison ivy?
Q: On my trip to Japan, I bought some black Japanese bowls and small jewelry chests. When I got home, people told me the lacquer on my urushi ware was made from poison ivy and would make me itch. Is that true?
A: It is true that urushiol, the irritant that most of us fear, is found in poison ivy vine, Toxicodendron radicans, and the sap of the urushi tree, Toxicodendron vernicifluum. The tree is native to China, Korea, Japan and the eastern Himalayas. Urushiol is collected from the trees and is painted onto wooden objects to protect them. When urushiol is exposed to moisture and air, it polymerizes and becomes a very hard, durable, non-irritating plastic-like substance similar to black lacquer.
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