Towards the Reproduction of Enji

Abstract

Enji is a red colourant that was brought to China from the Western Regions in 2nd century BCE. Early Enji was a cosmetic made from safflower. The production of Wata-Enji of thin cotton discs soaked with lac dye began around the 7th century. Wata-Enji was used as a cosmetic, medicinal and art colourant up to modern times. Although Wata-Enji is still an important material in the creation and restoration of classical arts and crafts and thus its reproduction is strongly required, it is now no longer produced and its recipe has become largely unknown. We aimed to reproduce Wata-Enji by researching extant literature, undertaking field surveys and conducting scientific analysis through chemical experiments. We discovered a detailed recipe of Wata-Enji that was described in ‘外台秘要法’, a medical manuscript written in the period of the Tang Dynasty. We identified all the requisite materials and have clarified their quantities based on this recipe. We also attempted to make Enji from stick lac and several Chinese medicinal herbs. In this paper, we explain the historical transformation of Wata-Enji and report the process of our experiments in manufacturing Enji.