FAQ s

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Every troubling case is unique and different.
When you are having trouble with our products, it means that we are too.
Please feel free to e-mail us and ask any questions at customer@kogeistyling.co.jp.
We do our best to communicate with you to try to find the best solution.

INDEX

 

< How to take care your lacquerwares >

Can I use it in a Microwave Oven?

No, please do not use the lacquerware in a microwave oven.
The genuine wood and the natural urushi lacquer may crack or deform due to the heat directly created by the microwave.

Can I wash them in a Dishwasher and Dryer?

No, please do not use the lacquerware in a dishwasher and dryer.
The genuine wood and the natural urushi lacquer may crack or deform due to the heat directly given especially by the dryer.

Can I keep them in a Refrigerator?

Please avoid keeping the lacquerwares in a refrigerator for a long period of time, since the condition in the refrigerator is too dry for lacquerwares to be kept.
So, like in the situation when you have your food prepared on the lacquerware that needs to be kept cold before it is served, it is OK, since it is a short period of time and the moisture of the food will help it from drying.

Can I put Boiling liquids directly into the lacquerware?

Please avoid putting boiling liquids (especially oily high-temperature liquid) directly into the lacquerware.
The lacquerwares can endure up to little below the boiling point of water around 95 deg Celsius. If you put boiling water immediately into the lacquerware for many times, it may damage the surface of the coating and may lose the gloss of the lacquer slightly or create slight cracks in the worst case. Please wait for a few seconds before the liquids are no longer at the boiling point of water, and pour a small amount of the liquid first so that the lacquerware can gradually absorb the heat.
Please also be careful that you do not put very hot oily foods directly from the pan, which might be well over 100 deg Celsius. Please wait for few seconds before you put it in.
If you would take a little care and take a little time before you serve hot foods into the lacquerwares, it would extend the life of your lacquerware a lot.

Can I use Ice cubes in the lacquerware?

Yes, you can put ice cubes directly into the lacquerware, without any problems. Matter of a fact lacquerwares can hold cold things for a longer time than glass or ceramics.
Since it transmits heat less than glass or ceramics. We hope you will enjoy cold drinks or food with lacquerware.

How can I wash the lacquerware?

Please never use it in a dishwasher and a dryer. It is detrimental to lacquerware. Washing by hand in lukewarm water with a soft sponge would be very nice to them and please use liquid mild neutral detergents if you need it.
Please avoid using scrub sponge or hard sponge that might scratch the surface. Wiping with dry soft cloth after rinse would be nice.

Can I use detergents on the lacquerware?

Yes, please use mild neutral liquid detergents. Please do not use chlorine detergents or bleaching agents.

Can I use Metal Knives and Forks or Spoons with my lacquerware?

Please avoid using metal cutleries directly on the lacquerware. They may scratch the lacquer coatings. Wooden spoons, forks or chopsticks would be very nice, if you have.

How can I store my lacquerware?

When you put away in a rack, please do not stack on/under coarse or rough ceramics, it will damage the surface.
Please avoid exposure to the direct sunlight, since the natural urushi lacquer is vulnerable to the UV radiation.

Will I get a rash from the urushi lacquer?

No, urushi lacquerware is dried enough that you would not get a rash from the lacquerware.
Raw urushi will create a rash to most of the people. However, once it is coated and dried enough, you will not get a rash from it.

I find some smell from the lacquerware, what is it? Does it go away?

The natural urushi lacquer has its own unique smell. It is natural sent of urushi and they will disappear when it is completely dried. It is said that it needs about a year for a total compete dry. If you feel uncomfortable with the sent, please let us know first. 

If you feel you can live with it, but want some improvements, put the lacquerware in an airy place not under direct sunlight for a while, or soak it in water for a night and wash with mild neutral detergents in lukewarm water, the smell will reduce much faster than the normal use.

We take extra care and control that our products do not smell at all. But please comment on us whenever you feel uncomfortable about the smell. 

My lacquerware got chipped, what should I do?

Lacquerware can be repaired in case if there is a crack or a chip on the surface. Please contact us for a repair.
Once if a crack or a chip is created, water or any liquid will permeate through those damages and in the long run it will damage the coatings and the lacquerware.
Therefore, we recommend a repair in the initial stage of the damage.
However in some cases, if the base wood is cracked or broken, it may be very difficult to repair back to an original condition or could not be repaired. But please feel free to contact us for an estimate, we will do our best not to waste our fine lacquerware.

The repair costs depend on the level of the damage, please contact us with your actual damaged conditions for further information.

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< Duties and Taxes, Payments, Returns and Refunds >

I have been asked to pay Duties and Taxes when I receive the package, what should I do?

If you are a resident outside Japan, as the recipient, you are liable for all customs duties, taxes, and/or fees that may be levied upon the shipment.
Please pay those charges to the appropriate authority prior to taking delivery of the shipment.

Please be assured that duties, taxes, and fees relating to importation are entirely exclusive of the amount that is charged to your credit/debit card by Kogei Styling.

I would like to return the items. What should I do?

You can return the items following our procedure for the returns.

Please e-mail us at customer@kogeistyling.co.jp within 48 HOURS of the delivery of the products.

Please include the following details in your return request e-mail:

  • Invoice number and date;
  • E-mail address;
  • Your full name;
  • Phone number;
  • The products you wish to return; and
  • The reasons

When we receive your return request we will provide you with a Return Authorization (RA) number that must be included with your return shipment.

Please repackage the products with all documentation, your RA number, original labels on their original boxes, the original packaged materials in their original shipping box, and in their original condition.

We ask that you dispatch the package to a local shipping company, with attention to our address shown below, within 7 days from the time of delivery of the products to you.
Please note that we require that the products be returned to be received by us within 14 days from the time of delivery to you.

Address for returns

Attention to
Japan Kogei Styling Co., Ltd.
Street address
Honkomagome 3-chome
Address
Bunkyo-ku,
City
Tokyo
Postal code
113-0021
Country
Japan

Please be on notice that the return shipping charges and fees should be borne by the purchaser.

In the case of international returns, please be aware that in some cases products returned to Kogei Styling in Tokyo may incur import duties and taxes levied by the Japanese customs where the returned products are not adequately described as returned products. To minimize the risk of such occurrences, we require the return of all documentation that was issued to you when the products were originally shipped. (Please be sure to keep the documents relating to customs duties and taxes that you may have paid to the local authorities as you may be able to recover any duties and/or taxes paid.)

However, we do not guarantee that unnecessary charges will not be incurred even if all documentation is in order. It often depends on how the returning shipping company handles the customs clearance process in Japan. To such ends, we advise that you use the same shipping company that delivered the products to you in order to minimize the risk of incurring unnecessary charges.

We will do our best to minimize any unnecessary charges in relation to returns and will endeavor to clearly communicate with you as often as we can.

You are financially responsible for all shipping and handling charges in relation to the products, and assume full responsibility for their safe return. We remind you to check with the returning shipping company that you have sufficient insurance coverage for your package.

In the case of a partial product return, in the interests of the economy, a smaller shipping box of a similar quality to the one shipped to you may be used along with a reasonable amount of shock-absorbing material other conditions remain the same.

In the case that a product that is delivered is not what you originally ordered or has apparent defects, we would appreciate it if you e-mail us immediately at customer@kogeistyling.co.jp before using the product and describe to us the problem and any defects in detail. We will do our best to work with you to fix the problems as soon as we can. In case if we ask you to return the product, of course, we will cover the cost of the return.

I would like to get refunds from my returns how that will happen?

Once we have received the products from you, we will confirm whether the returned products meet the required return conditions. We will refund the full product value (less shipping and handling fees) if the returned products meet all of the return conditions. Please note that all costs associated with the shipping of the returned products and all duties and taxes incurred due to the return are to be borne by you.

The package seems to be damaged upon the delivery. What should I do?

Upon delivery of your package, we ask that you inspect the contents of the box carefully BEFORE signing for the delivery. If for any reason the box looks like it has been tampered with or seriously damaged, refuse the package or have the delivery company open the box by themselves and check whether the content inside is damaged or not, and then judge for yourself whether you will accept it or not. If the damage is apparent, do not sign the receipt and refuse to accept it with its reason. Please send us an e-mail at customer@kogeistyling.co.jp and please share those facts with us. We will handle it as a damaged delivery and take care of the issues regarding payments made by you.

Please be aware, if once you have signed for the delivery it will be hard to return the package to the shipping company as a damaged delivery.

The package seems to be opened before the delivery. What should I do?

If the package seems to have been opened before the delivery, BEFORE signing for the delivery or paying any charges, please have the delivery company explain the reason and have them confirm the content inside that all the products you've ordered is there and safe. If the content is apparently not all there, do not sign the receipt and refuse to accept it with its reason. Please send us an e-mail at customer@kogeistyling.co.jp and please share those facts with us. We will handle as damaged delivery and have a shipping company cover the payments already made by you. Please be aware, if once you have signed for the delivery it will be hard to return the package as a damaged delivery.

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< Sending as a Gift >

I would like to send the package directly to a person under her address as a gift. Can I do that?

We do not recommend that you ask us to send gifts directly to the person you want to give them, for two reasons.

The first reason is that the receiver of the package must pay duties and taxes levied by the destined country at the point of reception.

The second reason is that in rare instances, the package may be opened during the customs inspection procedures. In those rare cases, the wrappings would not be in the original packaged conditions. (We do not have any controls over the customs clearing procedure at the destination country.)

We feel sorry, but based on those reasons we do not recommend that you ship our products directly as a gift.

I would like to have my items in the gift wrapping. Is it possible?

Yes, it is possible. Please e-mail us at customer@kogeistyling.co.jp.

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< General Questions on Japanese  Lacquerware>

What does lacquerware mean?

Lacquerware in Japanese is written as lacquer(漆) ware(器). In this case, the lacquer specifically stands for urushi lacquer(漆), which is the sap of the urushi tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum) and used as a protective coating material over core material, most of the time wood. The ware(器) stands for tableware. Therefore, lacquerware, as in the original meaning, is urushi lacquer coated tableware.

So if Japanese is been asked what the lacquerware is, they would show you a wooden soup bowl coated in black or red, as an example, and show that the colored coating is the lacquer coating over the wooden core. 

What is Japanese lacquerware made of? 

By definition, Japanese lacquerware is made of urushi lacquer coating over the core material. The core material of the lacquerware is most of the time wood, however, it is not bound to it. It could be wood, paper, linen, metal, or any material as long as it is appropriate material as tableware. 

Historically, we Japanese have been using wood as core material for tableware for a long time. The material wood has many advantages to use as tableware, such as an abundant material supply, ease of forming in any shape, lightweight to use in hand, low heat conductivity for use of hot liquid, however, there are many problems to use as tableware only as in solid wood. 

If it is solid wood, any liquid will permeate into the wood from the porous structures called "vessels" or "tracheids" that function as water or sap transfer canal in the live wood. Therefore, some sort of coating over the pores of wood is needed, or else it could not be used as tableware. 

The urushi lacquer is functionally the most suited coating material over wood, to use as tableware. The urushi lacquer is the natural sap of the urushi tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum). The urushi lacquer is viscous and has very strong adhering strength to wood and not only it will fill in those porous structures of wood and creates a smooth surface, thereby allowing lacquer coated wood to hold liquid, but also strengthen the wood, withstand hot water, acids, or alkaline that come from various food ingredients. The urushi lacquer coating enables the wood to be used as tableware with 100% naturally safe material. 

 Since urushi lacquer has such superb chemical and physical properties as a coating material and as an adhesive, it is used for more than 7000 years in Japan and China. No other natural sap has this superior functionality. That is why the urushi lacquer has been specifically used for lacquerware for many many years.

 

 

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