Interviews

Asakura Senpu: NAGARE, the Super Water-Repellent Furoshiki from Kiryu

In the textile city of Kiryu, Asakura Senpu reinvents the traditional furoshiki with a super water-repellent finish that lets it carry water, shrug off rain and stay breathable.

nucca: Warm Colors from a Hasami Ware Kiln

We visited Yamashita Toen in Hasami, Nagasaki, a kiln that makes everything in-house, to hear how its love of making led to nucca, pottery in 12 colors kneaded into the clay.

buntA: Waraji Sandals Born from Medical Insoles in Kobe

We visited Fuji Koatsu Products in Kobe, the rubber maker behind buntA, to see how a material made for medical insoles became a sandal that helps you walk with all five toes.

cobcob: Ballpoint Pens from Fragrant Yoshino Cedar Burls

We visited forester Mr. Morimoto in Sakurai, Nara, who turns rare, fragrant burls of Yoshino cedar into handmade ballpoint pens under the name cobcob.

ABE HOME SHOES: Slippers from Japan's Slipper Capital

We visited Abe Sangyo in Kahoku, Yamagata, Japan's top slipper town, to learn how a 100-year-old subcontractor built its own brand of comfortable home shoes.

MokuNeji: Where Wood Turning Meets Precision Engineering

We visited Taniteru Kogei in Yamanaka, Ishikawa, the wood turners behind MokuNeji, who brought machine precision to a traditional craft to cut perfect wooden screw threads.

Shitsurindo: Echizen Lacquer and a New Generation of Craftspeople

We returned to Shitsurindo in Sabae, Fukui, to see how this Echizen lacquerware maker has grown, and to meet one of the young craftspeople carrying the craft forward.

Makita Shoten: Woven Umbrellas from Yamanashi

We visited Makita Shoten in Yamanashi, a textile house founded in 1866, to see how it weaves jacquard fabric and turns it into umbrellas with the help of its whole weaving region.

JINSUI: Reinventing the Tokoname Teapot

We visited JINSUI in Tokoname, Aichi, where a former florist turned teapot maker is reinventing the classic Japanese teapot with his TOKI series.

Osaka Suzuki: 300 Years of Osaka Tinware

We visited Osaka Suzuki, the company that carries on nearly all of Osaka's 300-year-old tinware tradition, and found a workshop full of young craftsmen.