There are some things in the world that are unique to humanity. While it is often thought that things like murder and homosexuality are exclusively human, they are not. But what is exclusively human is art. Now, there are billions of people who are moving about the planet. These people are divided geographically. Now, this division has fostered unique cultures. Given that art is unique to humanity and that culture makes humans distinct from each other, it follows then that the way art is expressed will differ from one culture to another, like Japanese cloisonne.

Cloisonne is a type of art. It is typically used to be paint things like jars, vases, and other such finery. Now, the word itself is French, but some of the most famous examples are decidedly East Asian in origin.

In the Meiji period, the samurai class, once proud and noble, was way down on its luck. Many of them were forced to subsist on a meager government income, a far cry from being among the most respected in their societies, serving at the pleasure of their lords and vassals. While many of them realized that their pay was not going to be enough, only one of them decided to do something about through artistic expression. That one samurai took some china that came from China and then disassembled it, finding out how it was made and in essence, reverse engineering the whole process. They were then able to produce a small dish of their own making.

Cloisonne has a singular use. That would be to make things pretty. Admittedly, a lot of the things that is applied on are well enough without it. It is not as if having pretty flowers on a plate makes the food any more delicious. No, the food will still taster the same. But at least the plate will be prettier.

The way it is done is pretty simple. First, some fine wiring is put on the thing that is to have paint applied on it in order to delineate the areas to be brightened. Then some enamel paste is put on, for the actual coloring. Then it is heated with fire and then polished.

There are still ways for it to be used in the modern day. For example, since the process can be very time consuming, it can be therapeutic. Any person who engages in it is going to have to block the whole world out and focus on it completely.

The materials involved should be easily obtained. The first would be the canvass, so to speak, which is to be made of copper. Then there is the wiring. The last thing will be the enamel paste, in order to facilitate the application of color.

Time of course is a factor. This is not a hobby that can be completed in a few minutes. This is something that will require patience.

The thing about human beings is that they are likely the only animal capable of significant abstract thought. They sure as hell are the only animal capable of creating art. The fact is, even when the species as a whole was still in its relative infancy, it was still creating and appreciating art. Paintings scrawled on the walls of cave prove that, as does hollowed out bones that served as rudimentary flutes. Given all that evidence, it can be rightly inferred that man has appreciated the arts for at least a few thousand generations before the modern era.