Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Hi all,

I just had my flute repaired and have tried desperately to keep questions and inquiries to a minimum to figure things out for myself and avoid becoming too big a nuisance but I’ve run into a problem.

A day after I received the flute and replied that everything was in good shape (two rattan inlays/topical bindings and filler as a last measure because it opened a bit before being packed for return) the filler around the chin rest has cracked open just a bit, so I put it in an airtight box with a small bowl of water.

There were no drips in the bottom of the box and when I pulled it out to play tonight, I noticed it was very “wet” around the chin rest. I decided to play It for a bit and see if it would evaporate – it did… only problem is my finger-tips have hardened and everything is itchy. Could urushi oil have seeped out of the instrument because it was too humid and made a temporary stain or did I somehow get water on it and I’m just getting some residue? Should I put a moist sponge in the box instead of a small bowl of water?

Thanks,
Scott