Kainan, in Wakayama Pref., has been the center of Kishu lacquerware production for over 400 years, and still preserves unique techniques that employ multi-colored lacquer layers. Our reporter walks the elegant streets, learning from craftsmen along the way, and even discovers an innovative new technique that marries lacquer to glassware. Then our correspondent discloses how best to experience an epic festival in Kishiwada, Osaka, where enormous wooden floats careen around crowded city streets.