Maruwaka Hirotoshi is an award-winning designer and one of the founders of GEN GEN AN by EN TEA, a Tokyo-based tea house that’s actively broadening notions of what Japanese tea can and should look like. Even before becoming a tea master for the new millennium, Maruwaka straddled the worlds of...
Genten kaiki (原点回帰) means something like, “returning to the original starting point,” or “going back to the origin.” It’s an idea lacquerware company Gato Mikio adopted as their guiding approach, a philosophy that goes into each and every bowl, plate, tea canister, vase, or sake cup they design and produce....
Kyoto Denim started as a Kimono manufacturer dating back to the Edo period, specifically 1688. While many of their competitors have gone out of business in the the past few decades, Kyoto denim is going strong. Toyoaki Kuwayama, the successor of this family business took the company in an unexpected...
Kawara are the roof tiles that define the historical cityscapes of places such as Kyoto. Yasuhiro Ichinose, the successor of a family business specializing in traditional roof tiles that has recently celebrated it’s 100th anniversary, is looking to expand the scope of kawara products beyond roofs. Yasuhiro has been involved...
Japan is known for its “Capsule Hotels” but newly opened one in Nara stands out. Often the hotels have very little to do with craftsmanship but the “Nara Forest Hotel” is different. This hotel’s signature is the generous use of Japanese cypress carefully integrated in each guest room, the entrance...
I’d love to learn the craft of Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangements) but it’s always hard to find the time to get started. These vases would make it easy to get started with simple “ichirin zashi” (single-flower arrangements). Simply pin the vase to the wall and collect a few flowers /...
Kyoto is seemingly hot these days. On a hilly path near the golden temple Kiyomizu-dera, a new art and tools shop just had a grand opening. The entrance reads “Japan’s Art and Tools Shop Nittodo” on a traditional Japanese shop curtain sign. I get excited with this type of shop typically...
The Japanese Nikkapokka were inspired by the “Knickerbockers” fashion movements in the early 20th century. Before World War I boys would wear knickerbockers until puberty and then transitioned to long pants. Baseball players still wear a stylized version of Knickerbockers today although they have become less baggy and many players...
Originally posted on Spoon & Tamago by Johnny Strategy (@Johnny_Strategy). Sanjo City in Niigata has a history of blacksmithing that dates back to the 17th century. Susceptible to flooding, the farmers of the region were struggling to make a living until a local magistrate went to Edo and convinced a number...
When we moved to the US the hardest thing for us to find were beautiful, lightweight table ware. Everything in the US is oversized and extremely heavy. They are obviously made for larger tables and larger portions. We ended up buying most ceramics at MUJI but the most challenging of...
Originally posted on amworkshops.com . Writing and photographs by Adam Marelli (@adammarelli). These days you don’t often see real indigo. In common use today, the dye is almost always synthetic. Producing natural indigo dyes for modern markets is time consuming and expensive. This is why denim, even high end denim, is...
When it comes to Japanese craftsmanship Kyoto and Kanazawa quickly come to mind. But recently Takaoka in Toyama Prefecture has been putting more effort into promoting it’s crafts. The moment you arrive Takaoka a giant buddah sculpture made of metal welcomes you to the city. This buddah is one of...
