Monthly Archives: January 2023

After our experience with Muto-sensei and the Ueyakato gardeners, Julia was kind enough to take us on a non-traditional tour of Kyoto, around the theme of “Water, City, and Infrastructure.” We began our tour on tour on the Roman-style aqueduct … Continue reading →

Introduction: Shigeri Kawarabayashi is a local meister living in Keihoku town, which is a rural satoyama on the outskirts of Kyoto that has been surviving and thriving sustainably for at least 1000 years. Keihoku implements “Circular Edonomy”, which is a … Continue reading →

Introduction: Ryosuke Toyama is a photographer who comes from a long line of artisans and craftsmen. Recently, he’s been focused on a project he calls “Reviving Vistas”, in which he shapes forested areas by cutting down trees and branches to … Continue reading →

Introduction: While there wasn’t too much about Norihide-sensei online, I did discover that he is actually a musician who produces what he calls “laptop folk” music. His music is on Spotify and Bandcamp. It is fascinating to me that one … Continue reading →

Introduction: Source: Mucha Kucha Urushi as a craft has thrived in Japan for over 10,000 years, yet it wasn’t until Takuya Tsutsumi, a fourth-generation artist whose family has been lacquering for centuries, that it got an innovative and sustainable twist. … Continue reading →

Introduction: The sixth-generation owner of Horii Shichimeien, Chotaro Horii inherits a family legacy stretching back to the mid-Meiji period as well as a Japanese tea culture of nearly 800 years. Shichimeien means “seven great tea fields,” referring to original seven … Continue reading →

Introduction: Hosai is a 16th-generation head potter at a 400-year-old atelier called Asahiyaki in the famous tea region of Uji.  The two major goals of Asahiyaki are the making of tea utensils and porcelain works. Asahiyaki history began with making … Continue reading →

Introduction: Haruhisa KAWAMURA (河村晴久, b. 1956) is a noh performer for the Kanze School, mainly active at the Kyoto Kawamura Noh stage.  He made his stage debut at the age of three while being taught by his father, the noh … Continue reading →

Introduction: UDAKA Keiko is a Noh mask maker from Kyoto who comes from a long family line of individuals specializing in the art of Noh. Since her youth, she has been involved in the drama form under the tutelage of … Continue reading →

Introduction: Keikou Nishimura is a third generation lacquer artisan who thinks deeply about the sustainability of his craft. As an urushi painter, he was worried that the kyo-shikki (Kyoto-style lacquerware) woodturners whose work he relied on to be able to … Continue reading →