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Local Crafts Move into the Future

We believe that for local communities, crafts are hidden treasure that will prove to have value far greater than ever before. How will work that is grounded in nature and the environment be transformed and lifted as culture?

There are people who are putting into practice new perspectives and methods. In this series, we go to see these people at work, and we consider how makers and the people who connect them to markets are discovering new value in crafts.

Toyama’s Inami: Community through Collaboration

Kai Kaori, writer

We believe that for local communities, crafts are hidden treasure that will prove to have value far greater than ever before. How will work that is grounded in nature and the environment be transformed and lifted as culture? There are people who are putting into practice new perspectives and methods. In this series, we go to see these people at work, and we consider how makers and the people who connect them to markets are discovering new value in crafts. 　　　 In the Inami district of Nanto, Toyama Prefecture, a center of woodcarving craft for over 600 years, I interviewed architect Yamakawa Tomotsugu. The Bed and Craft network that Yamakawa…

Treasured Woodworking Skills Flourish in Toyama’s Inami District

Kai Kaori, writer

We believe that for local communities, crafts are hidden treasure that will prove to have value far greater than ever before. How will work that is grounded in nature and the environment be transformed and lifted as culture? There are people who are putting into practice new perspectives and methods. In this series, we go to see these people at work, and we consider how makers and the people who connect them to markets are discovering new value in crafts. Traditionally, the craft of woodcarving evokes household status symbols such as an eagle—associated with power and courage—in a tokonoma or intricately carved ranma woodwork in the transoms of Japanese-style rooms….