Colorist

There are three types of coloring. The first one is a typical vivid coloring, which looks the most flamboyant. Sculptures on the temple's transom screens and tables are painted with these brilliant rich colors. The brilliant rich colorings are characterized by the use of a pure white undercoat made from crushed oyster shells, known as ‘gofun’, which gives each shade a vivid coloring.
Next is the gold coloring. This is a technique of painting light colors on gold leaf and is mainly applied to sculptures. A slightly blurred color gives off the impression that it is melted into gold. Painting colors on top of the metallic gold creates a unique tone of colors without sinking into the foundation.
Lastly is the wood base coloring. This technique is literally coloring on a wood base. It doesn't have a vivid color like the brilliant rich coloring, but rather has a soft color characteristic of wood.

The brilliant rich coloring which combines shades with amazing clarity, the gold coloring which creates colors in bright gold leaf, and the wood base coloring which makes use of the characteristics of wood; all are used to express the depiction of the Pure Land in the present world.

There are many National Treasures and important cultural properties in Japan, such as furnishings and age-old architecture, which get restored every few decades. There are also numerous masterpieces which are not designated as cultural heritages that undergo restoration. The coloring technique plays an important role in the restoration process.
This is because the decorative colorings are painted only on the surface, the most vulnerable part, and the pigments don't reach the base foundation.

The reason why coloring has been used through the ages for restoration is because of the adhesive that connects the pigments to the woodwork. Ultra marine and verdigris pigments are made from powdered azurite or malachite, coral or crystal, and plant-based colors. Those fine powders are applied as an adhesive. Once dry, this glue can be dissolved with water. This reversibility, which synthetic-resin paint doesn't have, preserves representative Japanese artworks and buildings beautifully, and portrays the history and tradition of its culture, which has drawn worldwide attention.
The pigments and adhesive are mainly plant-based, therefore making the most of living materials is the primary work of a coloring painter.

One of the most interesting techniques of restoration by coloring is a technique known as old or period coloring. This is similar to ageing and damage processing. There are two types of restoration: restoration to the new appearance of the original building or restoration with the current texture.

The difference between such restorations has a rational meaning. For example, the famous Sanjusangen-do in Kyoto has more than 1,000 Buddhist statues on display, and as there are 1,000 statues on display, it is necessary to restore them one by one, several at a time. For this reason, the Buddha statues on display are a mixture of new statues that have just been restored and old statues that have been in place for a long time.
But which Buddha statues have been restored? Which parts have been restored? I don't think anyone can tell the difference among 1,000 statues. The same can be said for partial restorations in buildings or restorations made with the aim of maintaining the original state.

Therefore, the colorists reproduce the textures that nature has produced over time, even on new materials where the carver has added missing carved parts and so on. Sometimes urushi lacquer, soot and ash are also used in this technique of expression, which is created to fit into the space.