Human has made great progress beyond the speed of biological evolution by using tools. First, human used stones and wood as tools for hunting and gathering, and then invented earth-baked earthenware such as bowls for food, appropriate to farming life. The defects of woodenware and earthenware, however, were obvious. It was not able to contain liquid due to their moisture absorbency, and easily damaged. Earthenware has evolved into glazed ceramic but it required a high-tech kiln with high temperature, accompanied by a technology for metal refining as a key prerequisite. In East Asia, moisture proof and insect proof techniques to coat objects were invented much earlier. That is lacquer technique.\nProduction process of lacquer is delicate and complicated such as handling lacquer sap at the risk of skin disease, creating hot and humid environment for hardening process, etc. Nevertheless, in East Asia, people have used lacquer technique in many regions from the Neolithic Age, knowing its merits earlier on. Lacquer was used for adhesive and surface protection of leather, earthenware, ceramics and metalware. In particular, it has been inextricably linked to wooden objects. Whereas in West Asia and Europe various varnishes mixed with dry oil and resin has been used, in East Asia lacquer was used as a basic varnish in common. That shows that lacquer is great material and technique to represent the commonality of Asian culture.1) This article aims to briefly look into the origin of lacquer technique in Northeast Asia and share the information on it and its current status of transmission.

The major veins of definitions regarding shamanism in Japanese academic discourse can be summarized as follows. The shaman is an individual with the magico-religious professional capacity to directly engage with spiritual being while under an altered state of consciousness (trance) to fulfill various roles and functions such prophecy, oracle, divination, performance of rituals and healing. Shamanism is a magico-religious phenomenon constructed of a supernatural worldview, rites, clients and followers centered around the shaman. It is believed to have existed in continuity from the prehistoric era to the present day (Sato, 2010). Buddhist monks, Catholic priests and Protestant pastors belong to the priest category of religious actors who offer prayer and conduct rituals on behalf of individuals or the society directed at spiritual beings in a unidirectional relationship and under a normal state of consciousness. On the other hand, Shamans are religious actors who perform various roles in direct interaction with spiritual beings.

Korean shamanism has two faces. One firmly preserves tradition maintaining consistency from ancient past and this is the essence of traditional shamanism. This is how shamanism retains continuity with the past and serves as an important part of cultural heritage. Meanwhile, Korean shamanism is also going through drastic changes to adapt to the changing social environments, becoming a part of modern cultural heritage. It continues in different dimensions of transition and being reborn with each new era. In this sense, Korean shamanism is constantly changing. On the other hand, some part of Korean shamanism remain constant amidst the process of change. The most pertinent modes of transmission are found in the dimensions of linguistics, oral tradition, behavior, and materials. Linguistic transmission in Korean shamanism is based on the linguistic foundation of local dialects a unified national language. It is also considered to be a result of historical transmission as it contains the legacies of certain historical eras. Oral tradition refers to the comprehensive sum of transmission through elements in muism and gut culture such as bonpuri, muga, ritualistic language and individual initiation ceremonies. Transmission through actions or behavior include ritual dances and other ritualistic acts. Material transmission refers to material elements derived from the shamanistic ritual of gut as well as the entire tradition.

First, What areas are included in East Asia? This article deals with East Asian printing technology so it is necessary to give a thought on the area where printing technoloy was developed in pre-modern times. Even though there are differences depending on the order of time, countries where printing technology has developed are China and its neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Therefore, this article aims to look into characteristics in these countries, grouping them into East Asia category.\nSecond, what is the scope of printing technology? Printing is the technology for mass copy of texts. Human civilization of copying texts has evolved from oral transmission to transcription, from transcription to printing, from printing to digital copying. It has been only thousand years since printing began to be used in human society in earnest. Social needs drove a development of new technology, and craftsmen who has assimilated its knowledge and skills created new things. In other words, intangible needs and technology produced new tangible things. Diagraming of printing technology is as follows;\nSocial needs for printing → Craftsman and Technology → Woodblock or Movable - Type → Books\nIn this article, we will examine why printing technique was needed and what its social background in each area was, focusing on woodblocks and movable-type, two representative methods of printing technology in pre modern times.\n