Kamakura-bori (鎌倉彫) is a form of lacquerware from Kamakura, Japan. It is made by carving patterns in wood, then lacquering it with layers of red, blue, yellow or other colors. It is then polished.
The genre is said to date to the Kamakura period, when Kōun (康運) (or, according to another theory, Kōen (康円), a busshi (a sculptor specializing in Buddhist images), began carving Buddhist implements in the manner that Chin Na-kei (or Chin Wa-kei) had introduced from Song Dynasty China.
This article incorporates material translated from 鎌倉彫 (Kamakura-bori) in the Japanese Wikipedia, accessed August 26, 2008.