In almost every home in Oita Prefecture, there are one or two pieces of the local pottery Onta-Yaki, but it seems that most people don’t know much about the place where it is produced or the craftsmen who make these pieces. To find out about this ubiquitous pottery, I decided to visit “Onta-yaki no …

Girls’ Day comes but once a year, but in Fukuoka Prefecture’s Yanagawa, tsuribina hanging dolls called sagemon are used as household decorations year-round. Aiko Sakai has been making sagemon for over sixty years. I went to see her exhibition in Ginza. This handicraft, which has been practiced since…

In my home prefecture of Toyama, there’s a firefly squid run every spring. They’re little squid that shine like fireflies, hence the name “firefly squid”. They have a lifespan of about one year, and once they spawn, their short lives come to an end. Their habitat includes both the Japan Sea and the …

The Golden Week holiday season starting end of this month is also the season for major crafts festivals and markets all over the country. Mashiko city in Tochigi prefecture is famous for pottery but half of it 40 kilns have suffered partial or total destruction with the Mar. 11 earthquake.

Kokeshi dolls, second hands, are a feature of antique markets. When they come by crowds, they gather like well behaved school children for the commemorative class picture. Or they stay put, alone.

The wears, scratches and bruises show in interesting patterns these days on K. soup bowl. It was a beautiful bowl. It is even better, although we could submit it to a master lacquer for repair, but for repairing what?

Among the bleak stories following the 3.11 disaster is the catastrophic state of crafts in Tohoku. It is a double blow, with numerous broken wares and production facilities, individual of workshops, but also with the obvious recess in tourism.

I already know based on access statistics that the truly traditional stories I select are less read than the contemporary content. Dear Readers, this one writer will tell you one truth : you are wrong.

I briefly covered my chance discovery of Yoichi Hatakenaka the other day at Isetan in Shinjuku. Some more words are in demand although pictures should suffice.

The Ishikawa International Urushi Exhibition will be held in 2012 and the applications are closing in July this year. "Urushi" is the sap of the "urushi tree" and the generic word to talk about lacquer. "Shikki" stands for lacquer ware.

I spoke with artist Yoichi Hatakenaka but let me postpone a detailed presentation of his work for a later day. Suffice to know that he is a wizard of washi, Japanese paper.

The traditional crafts center at Ikebukuro reopens the second exhibition floor starting tomorrow, April 15th, with yet another appeal to support Tohoku through the purchase of local crafts ware.

Two exhibitions you will want not to miss right now in Tokyo. First, the beautiful Okaya wood craft exhibition in the B1 level of bookshop Maruzen located on the opposite side of the Takashimaya department store not far from Nihonbashi.

loopto will take part in the Edit/real event taking place at Art Onion Gallery, where a different shop will open each day, for just one day.

The object caught in the fisherman’s net is made of coarse fired clay, and the inside is hollowed out so it looks something like a small handbell, about 10 cm long.

loopto stores are run directly by small local manufacturers, designers and independent retailers around Japan. All sales proceeds go directly to individual stores, with just a small fee taken by us at loopto. From March 14 2011, loopto will donate 100% of our fees (5% of all sales) to earthquake rel…

Those huge barrels used in Japanese brewing, to make soy sauce, vinegar, sake, mirin etc. The ones used for making soy sauce are 32 koku in the old Japanese measurement system (roughly 180 liters), 2.3 meters across, and about 2 meters high. Most of them are made from Yoshino cedar, and the bacteria…

The rag market is held in Setagaya every year on December 15 and 16, and January 15 and 16. There are approximately 750 stands, and 200,000 people visit the massive flea market each day. The market, which has been going on for over 400 years, is designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as an …

In mid-January on Shodoshima, the second largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, they hold the ‘Tondo’ festival, to burn the straw New Years ‘shimekazari’ decorations. The decorations are hung on gates and doorways at New Year, to welcome in the gods, and ward away evil spirits. Burning them sends th…

Ishida Warehouse is just a short walk from Tachikawa station in west Tokyo. I went to meet metalwork artist Atsushi Ozawa, who shares the space with 15 other artists, including painters and potters, and more.

Soy sauce. For generation after generation it has been unthinkable for a Japanese home to be without some on the kitchen shelf. But the way it is made has changed over the years, and now more than 99% of soy sauce is made fast, in huge metal tanks.

They’re not mass-produced, and they’re not totally one-off, so-called “handmade” products, either. The brands Kou Chihara has gathered together for the Readymade/Handmade show at the Omotesando shop Pass The Baton …

Sachiko-san (Sa-chan), who runs a hair salon, is Kamayama's "boss behind-the-scenes". The reason I called this "The Actress" is that up until a few years ago, she was the leading lady of the local theatre, "Yoriiza".

On the small island of Teshima, which bobs peacefully in the Inland Sea, lives a man who single-handedly built up the first domestic lemon plantation. To look at, his lemons are, well, not exactly beautiful. But that’s because, thanks to the richness of the island earth, they are grown entirely wit…

The other day, out of the blue I got an email from Miyagi-san, who runs the cafe & store next door to the Kamiyama Bluebear Office, asking me to act as interpreter.

"When we were teenagers, the wild lads used to creep out at night and take An-chan's boat to Takamatsu to have some fun. The lights across the water made it seem like the town was floating on the sea. It was like we were about to land on a shining Palace of Fun, and we would get really excited as we…

I went over to the Kaizen Center today to watch the Joruri Puppet Show "Ebisu dance".

Just too sweet!!

I was relaxing last night when something started making an almighty racket.

Blue Bear Office Nakameguro is our own Tokyo office.

How about spending some time working on your next project in this beautiful 100 year-old house in the mountains in Tokushima Prefecture?

An umbrella, a vacuum cleaner, a bath plug. These are the everyday products that make up the motifs on the popular t-shirt brand Shikisai, designed by Notofusai. Loopto went to meet the Notos (the name "Notofusai" means "Noto Husband and Wife") to learn more about Shikisai t-shirts, and their other …

It's begun! I've been dying to start for ages, but now I'm actually here I have no idea how this month is going to go. But, having no idea should help me discover things. Maybe the one duty a film-maker really has is to learn how to put his life on the line for that unknown place or single moment in…

Whenever I visit Ogishima, I feel like I've been invited right into the islanders' homes - that's just how the whole island feels, because for the islanders, the whole island itself is home. The roads are the home's hallways, and everyone's living rooms are the restaurants and cafes. And the …

From Takamatsu, there are ferries to 6 of the inland sea islands, Megijima, Ogijima, Naoshima, Teshima, Shodoshima and Oshima. And, you can take your bicycle on all of them. Taking a bike to the islands is not only a great way to get around, but it also gives you that feeling of being "at home". The…