Japanese craftwork overcoming challenges Ishikawa, key craft site recovering from earthquake

A traditional Japanese craft is now reborn in a new design, attracting worldwide attention.

On January 29, 2024, for example, the Indian Embassy in Chiyoda City, Tokyo, hosted a fashion show featuring traditional Indian saris enhanced through a traditional Japanese method of dyeing silk fabrics known as Kyo Yuzen. The event attracted immense interest, with an audience filling the embassy hall to near capacity.

Kyo Yuzen originated in Kyoto and involves the application of either hand-drawn or stenciled patterns to white silk fabrics. It is therefore ideally suited to the lightweight fabrics, including silk, of the sari, a form of dress traditionally worn by women in India and elsewhere in South Asia.

The saris showcased at the Indian Embassy are the creation of the Kyoto Cooperative Association of KOUGEISENSHO, a collective of 40 Kyo Yuzen houses specializing in hand-drawn patterns. The association diverged into sari making when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020 and further diminished its members’ business in Japan’s traditional garments. It has since held widely acclaimed exhibitions of saris in Japan and in India, in such major cities as Mumbai and New Delhi.

Saris offer new outlet for Kyo Yuzen artisans

Susumu Takehana, the head of the Kyoto Cooperative Association, is thrilled with the success of the association’s venture into saris. “The response,” he says, “has been phenomenal. Rather than just calling the saris ‘beautiful’ or ‘wonderful,’ people use the term ‘amazing,’ which I feel is the ultimate compliment.”

Behind this success, however, lies concern for the future of Kyo Yuzen and many of Japan’s traditional crafts. According to figures from the Federation of Kyo Yuzen Cooperatives, Kyo Yuzen has seen its hand-drawn production fall to just 0.6% of its volume in 1970. This is a shocking, five-decade plunge in production of 99.4%.

The sari initiative is an attempt to find a way out of this predicament. Adding to the challenge, though, is that 70% of Kyo Yuzen artisans are over the age of 70. And now Mother Nature has furthered the challenges this and other of Japan’s crafts confront by wrecking one of the country’s traditional craft hubs.

Ishikawa Prefecture, on Japan’s Noto Peninsula, is world renowned for the production of handcrafts. And on January 1, 2024, a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the peninsula, devastating, among others, the Ishikawa Prefecture city of Wajima-the home of distinctive Wajima-nuri lacquerware designated a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government. Many Wajima-nuri workshops and retailers were severely damaged or destroyed by the earthquake and its ensuing tsunami and fires.

Wajima’s residents are working to restart the industry. They are determined not to lose a craft that has for so long enriched their lives.

Ishikawa Traditional Crafts Fair showcases items saved from the earthquake’s devastation

On February 16, 2024, less than two months after the earthquake, the Tokyo International Forum in Yurakucho hosted the Ishikawa Traditional Crafts Fair. This was the 29th three-day exhibition and sale of craftwork from Ishikawa Prefecture. The earthquake had cast doubts over the fair’s viability this year, but the organizers of the fair were committed to keeping the torch of tradition alight.

Wholesale buyers and regular consumers enjoyed the fair’s array of some 20,000 new items representing more than 30 traditional crafts from Ishikawa Prefecture. Among them were 10 government-designated Traditional Crafts, including Wajima-nuri lacquerware, Kutani pottery, and Kaga Yuzen dyed fabrics. Even nine Wajima-nuri outlets, though severely damaged in the earthquake, were able to contribute exhibitor booths that featured salvaged items.

Among the exhibitors was Haruka Nakashima, of the Chubei Nakashima Lacquerware Store in Wajima. The earthquake affected his store and residence and his warehouse and other facilities, destroying and damaging numerous goods.

The Chubei Nakashima Lacquerware Store produces tableware, accessories, and other items and employs more than 15 artisans. Each artisan specializes in a part of the production process, from crafting the wooden base to applying the lacquer. Many of these artisans, too, had their homes destroyed or damaged and were forced to evacuate to Kanazawa and other locations. Gradually, they are helping other artisans and locals clear up the devastation in Wajima in preparation for the day when they can return and reopen their workspaces.

Shouldering the expectations of the people of Noto, “we want [tourists] to come to Ishikawa”

Another exhibitor at the fair was Hakuryudo, a Kutani ware producer and wholesaler from Nomi City, located in Ishikawa Prefecture more than 100 kilometers south of Wajima. Hakuryudo’s representative director, Ryuji Tamura, shared his earnest hope that tourists would return to Ishikawa.

“By bringing tourists back, we will be able to sell our Kutani ware as souvenirs. Currently, the Noto Peninsula is not in a position to welcome tourists, but when people from Noto tell me, ‘we want other parts of the prefecture to do their best,’ it brings tears to my eyes.

“Some people might feel this is not the right time for tourism, but we don’t see tourists as a nuisance at all. We want them to come to Ishikawa and encounter our craftwork for themselves.”

Government offers grants and a public-private fund

A surprise visitor on the fair’s opening day, February 16, was Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito. He viewed the booths and shared words of encouragement with the producers exhibiting their wares despite the devastation they’d experienced in the earthquake.

This was the first visit to the fair by a sitting Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. And Minister Saito expressed his gratitude after touring the venue. “I came here today,” he said, “knowing that this year’s fair would have a special meaning after the earthquake. I’m truly heartened to see the efforts everyone is making despite the difficult conditions.”

He then underlined the government’s intention to deliver assistance, citing such specific measures as (1) the procurement of tools and materials; (2) the rebuilding of workshops; (3) the placement of products in department stores and other retailers; and (4) the promotion of products through diplomatic missions abroad.

Minister Saito also declared the government’s intention to establish a public-private fund. He explained that “disaster victims can end up with compound debts, and we need to reduce their burden. Rather than offering more loans, we’d like to contribute capital, so we’re working with local financial institutions and other partners to set up a capital fund in the near future.”

At the end of March, the government did indeed announce its establishment of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake Recovery Support Fund, capitalized at 10 billion yen. April 1 saw the opening of the Noto Industry Recovery Advisory Center, which offers recovery and reconstruction consultations for businesses affected by the earthquake.

For its part, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) resolved to help restart crafts-related businesses by subsidizing some of the costs of repairing production facilities and of purchasing the tools and materials needed through the Subsidy for Supporting the Manufacture of Traditional Craft Products (Disaster Recovery Initiative). On February 28, METI selected an initial 39 grant recipients, including 30 businesses in Ishikawa Prefecture. A second round of grant applications was opened in April.

On April 1, meanwhile, temporary workspaces were established in Wajima. Artisans who lost their places of work in the earthquake have taken the first steps toward reviving the craft of Wajima-nuri.

“The capital of lacquerware culture is Wajima,” so recovery there will preserve Japanese culture

Tokugo Uchida is the director of the MOA Museum of Art, on Japan’s Izu Peninsula. He has also chaired the Traditional Crafts Designation Subcommittee of the Manufacturing Industry Committee of METI’s Industrial Structure Council. He emphasizes the following:
The lacquerware artist and Living National Treasure Kunie Komori says that ‘Japan’s capital city is Tokyo but the capital of lacquerware culture is Wajima’. The scale of the damage suffered by Wajima raises the prospect of extinction for one of Japan’s most significant cultural forms. To recover from the disaster is to preserve Japanese culture.

Reviving and preserving Japanese culture must also involve considerations of overseas markets and tourists to Japan. The earthquake-stricken Noto Peninsula has long been a popular destination for foreign tourists, many of whom are captivated by Wajima-nuri lacquerware. Undoubtedly, there are numerous people abroad eager for the revival of this and other of Japan’s traditional craft industries in the stricken region.

Taku Sato is the executive director of The Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries, which owns Japan Traditional Crafts Aoyama Square, a gallery and store in Tokyo’s Akasaka district. He reports that “travelers from overseas account for around 40% of all visitors to our gallery and 50% of our sales” and adds that overseas customers spend on average more than 18,000 yen in the store, double the average spent by Japanese. To capitalize further on foreign enthusiasm for Japanese craftwork, the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries also operates shops in Paris, France, and in Chongqing, China.

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