Hanno
Nishikawa Timber of Hanno
Timber rafted down to Edo from these hills; sawmills and woodworkers still shape the town.
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SaitamaArt & CraftsTokigawa
Joinery of Tokigawa
A joinery town whose craftsmen now fit out public buildings with local timber.
SaitamaArt & CraftsSaitama
Omiya Bonsai Village
Founded by growers who left Tokyo after the 1923 quake, with street widths and hedges written into its rules.
TokyoArt & CraftsKoto
Edo Kiriko Glass
Coloured glass cased over clear, then cut away to leave the pattern - a craft born of Edo townsman culture.
TokyoArt & CraftsHachijo
Kihachijo Silk
Silk dyed yellow, brown and black using only the island's own plants, from dye pot to loom.
Musashimurayama
Murayama Oshima Tsumugi
Kasuri patterns dyed by clamping threads between carved boards - an Amami technique reworked near Tokyo.
TokyoArt & CraftsShinjuku
Tokyo Komon Stencil Dyeing
Stencil patterns so fine the cloth reads as plain from a distance; still dyed along the Kanda river.
TokyoArt & CraftsTaito
Tokyo Silverware
A single silver sheet raised into a vessel by hammer, a line of Edo metalwork still worked in backstreet studios.
TokyoArt & CraftsTaito
Edo Woodblock Printing
Designer, carver and printer each do their part; the colours are still layered block by block as they were.
KanagawaArt & CraftsKamakura
Kamakura-bori Lacquer Carving
Wood carved first, then lacquered - a Japanese answer to Chinese carved lacquer, arrived at by splitting the trades.
Odawara
Odawara Lacquerware
Turned bowls of Hakone timber finished so the grain still shows - lacquer that displays the wood, not itself.
KanagawaArt & CraftsHakone
Hakone Marquetry
Geometric patterns built from blocks of differently coloured woods and shaved into veneer - no dye is ever used.
NiigataArt & CraftsMinamiuonuma
Echigo Jofu Ramie Cloth
Ramie split by fingernail, spun by hand, woven, then bleached on the snow; UNESCO Intangible Heritage.
Minamiuonuma
Shiozawa Tsumugi
The ramie technique applied to silk, its kasuri dots so small the pattern is named after mosquitoes.
NiigataArt & CraftsOjiya
Ojiya Chijimi
Hard-twisted weft crinkled by hot water into a summer cloth that never clings; UNESCO Intangible Heritage.
Tsubame
Gyokusendo
Two centuries of raising copper vessels - spout and body from a single sheet, without a join.
NiigataArt & CraftsSanjo
Sanjo Blacksmith Dojo
A blade town that began by forging nails for Edo; its forge is open, the fire worked in front of visitors.
Kamo
Kamo Paulownia Chests
A major share of Japan's paulownia chests; the wood swells with humidity, sealing the drawers by itself.
Murakami
Murakami Carved Lacquer
Carved wood layered with a dozen coats of lacquer and matted down; use wears the surface until the red shows through.
NiigataArt & CraftsSado
Mumyoi Ware
Made from iron-rich earth taken from the gold mine, fired so hard the pots ring like metal.
Sado
Aikawa Craft Museum
Keeps Sado's pottery and its rag weaving - both born from using up what the island had.
Niigata
Niigata Lacquerware
Specialising in trick finishes - lacquer made to look exactly like bamboo, or stone, over a wooden body.
Gosen
Gosen Silk
A silk district working both weave and knit, its foundation the technique of twisting the yarn.
NiigataArt & CraftsTokamachi
Tokamachi Kimono
From ramie to silk kasuri and yuzen; the snow's humidity is what makes the dyeing work.