To appreciate lacquer art, Western aesthetic standards need to be revised. To the Japanese "the strength of the sap, the strength of the adhesion" is an important as the design.

Lustre is another integral quality, something that can't quite be captured in photographs. Too shiny is regarded as crass, something reserved for the tourist market.

Connoisseurs prefer a dull glow that is best appreciated in dim natural light rather than a spotlight. Because the lacquer or sap is a natural organism, the work must be kept in a climate-controlled environment in dark boxes or display cabinets. It should only be handled with clean white gloves.

No wonder this work is highly collectable and in some cases very expensive. The earliest known examples of lacquer art are more than 1200 years old but those from the Edo period can be prized just as highly. This was when craftsmanship was at its peak.

A popular form of lacquer art in this period is the inro, a small container worn as part of the samurai warrior's ceremonial costume. There were so many of these produced that some collectors concentrate exclusively on these. Each one is unique in the manner of Chinese snuff bottles.

The value of these works can be explained by the fact that even the most humble examples would have taken a year to create. The production process is extremely time-consuming. Examples featuring designs in mother-of-pearl involve the slicing of a paper-thin layer of shell that is glued on. Silver or gold filigree is again painstakingly assembled piece by piece.

Entry level for a simple inro is about $3000. Writing boxes, another traditional form, are valued at about $10,000 and up. Major work can easily fetch $100,000 at auction. Even lacquer fountain pens made in the 1920s are fetching about $50,000.

The ancient art form has been revived by a new generation of Japanese artists. The best known is Kitamura Tatsuo, who works under the artistic name of Unryuan. He has amazed collectors by recreating some of the traditional Edo period techniques thought impossible to reproduce. He has also added some modern touches of his own, which makes his work very attractive to Western collectors.

In his biography, Tatsuo explains how he became an artist.

"I was born in 1952 in Wajima, a small village on the Noto Peninsula on the Japan Sea. My father was in the fishing industry, a prosperous local head fisherman. When I was four years old, I contracted a serious illness, hovering for considerable time between life and death. Because of this, my childhood was somewhat different from other children. I rarely played outside. I enjoyed being inside, drawing pictures and making clay animals."

By the time Tatsuo finished high school he had recovered enough to move to Tokyo where he studied design and worked in an advertising agency. At the age of 20 he was forced to return home and then decided to strive to become a lacquer master in the tradition of the Koami family from the Edo period. He followed this style because Koami production times were short by the standards of the day. Some major works were completed in less than three years. Kitamura notes that there was pressure to deliver on time. Failure to do so would have resulted in seppuku, also known as hara kiri or ritual suicide.

In his case, the pressure is to produce enough quality work for an increasing global demand. "Even in modern Japan, it is very difficult for artists like this, for artworks like this, to exist," he says.

London's Victoria and Albert Museum first acquired one of Kitamora's lacquer works in 1992. He then held exhibitions in Paris, Chicago and Vienna before his first Japanese solo exhibition in Kyoto in 1996. He has also exhibited here, at the Art Gallery of NSW in 2006, and most recently as part of the Japanese Cool Zero 8 show at the Deutscher and Hackett gallery in Sydney last month.

Most collectors of lacquer like to include at least one example of an Unryuan because it fits in so well with the traditional style. There are four or five serious collectors in Australia, the most notable being Pauline Gandel in Melbourne.

Japanese lacquer of any period is rarely seen at auction in Australia although a few pieces appeared recently through Mossgreen in Melbourne. Sotheby's and Christie's in New York and London are the main sources.

Recommended reading is Julia Hutt's book, Japanese Inro (A Beginner's Guide) published by the V&A. For more information on the work of contemporary artist Kitamura, contact Lesley Kehoe in Melbourne, 0428 827 502.

OUR COLLECTION

Dr Daryl Hodgkinson and his US-born wife, Catherine, have been collecting Japanese lacquer art for more than 20 years. They met at an oriental art exhibition and have about 80 pieces.

Daryl, a plastic surgeon, started the collection when he was studying at the Mayo clinic in Virginia. A local antiques dealer showed him an 18th-century cosmetics cabinet and said, "Daryl, you should own this." The cabinet had originally been owned by a high-level courtesan. Daryl says he was most impressed by the painstaking detail, including gold inlay. "I admire anyone who is a craftsman," he says.

The Hodgkinsons have researched the culture behind these works of art and are planning a book based on their collection, which ranges from the early 17th century to modern examples by Kitamura Tatsuo. For the past 15 years the Hodgkinsons have run the charity Operation Restore Hope in the Philippines.

Each year they go there so Daryl can operate on children with cleft lips and palates. They have helped 1300 children so far. This charitable venture is usually combined with a visit to Kyoto to search for more lacquer treasures.

$5000

Japanese inro (small nested containers used by samurai for carrying incense and snuff) are among the most popular items of lacquer art. They are also the most affordable. This one features the Biwa bird motif.

$15,000

A more elaborate inro from the late Edo period tells the story of Rosei's dream. This is a particularly fine example of the art form.

$50,000

A 1989 work by contemporary artist Kitamura Tatsuo (who works under the name of Unryuan) recreates the traditional writing box. The lid features a samurai battle. The box includes a series of matching handmade implements such as an inkstone, paper knife and water dropper.