Originally, masters of lacquerware shops accepted craftsmen as live-in workers.
At the lacquer shop, there are masters and senior craftsmen who train the newcomers from scratch.
After completing about three years of training, new recruits are recognized as full-fledged craftsmen by the master of the lacquer shop, and a graduation ceremony called Nenkiake is held at the end of the year. After becoming a full-fledged craftsman, after a year of apprenticeship at the lacquer shop where he learned to thank him for raising him, he becomes independent. If the lacquer shop teaches the base coat, the craftsman makes a living as the ground coat craftsman, and if the lacquer teacher teaches the overcoating, the craftsman makes a living as the top coat craftsman.
I think that not only Wajima lacquerware but also many other Japanese traditional crafts have been handed down in this way.
It is an old-fashioned apprenticeship system, but due to the recent depopulation of local cities and changes in the relationship between employers, the reality is that the way masters of lacquer ware shops have to change.