OsakaArt & CraftsSakai
Incense of Sakai
Incense making began where the aromatic woods landed; blending and forming are still separate trades.
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OsakaArt & Crafts
OsakaArt & CraftsHigashiosaka
Small Factories of Osaka
Thousands of tiny workshops packed together, their division of labour working as if it were one large factory.
Yao
Kawachi Cotton
Thick cotton from the flood plain, tough enough for sailcloth and working clothes.
HyogoArt & CraftsTanba-Sasayama
Tamba Ware
One of the six ancient kilns, and the only district in Japan where the kick wheel turns anticlockwise.
HyogoArt & CraftsToyooka
Toyooka Willow Craft
A basket in the 8th-century Shosoin is said to come from here; willow weaving later made this Japan's luggage capital.
HyogoArt & CraftsMinamiawaji
Awaji Roof Tiles
Smoked at the end of firing so carbon turns them silver; the demon tiles on the ridge are the tiler's sculpture.
HyogoArt & CraftsMiki
Miki Hardware
Smiths gathered to rebuild a castle and stayed; the town became Japan's main source of chisels and planes.
HyogoArt & CraftsNishiwaki
Banshu Textiles
Yarn dyed before weaving, so the colour holds; most of Japan's yarn-dyed cotton comes from this valley.
HyogoArt & CraftsOno
Banshu Abacus
Most of Japan's abacuses; the wood, the turning and the rods together decide how the beads feel and sound.
Himeji
Leather of Himeji
Hides tanned with nothing but salt and rapeseed oil - an ancient method that grew up supplying armour.
HyogoArt & CraftsKobe
Arima Onsen
Among Japan's oldest spas; its woven bamboo baskets are said to have been used by Hideyoshi at tea.
Sanda
Sanda Celadon
A kiln that copied Chinese celadon, extinct for a century and now being revived.
Nara
Nara Inksticks
Over ninety percent of Japan's ink; soot and glue kneaded by foot and hand, then dried for half a year.
Nara
Nara Brushes
Said to descend from a method Kukai brought from Tang China; different animal hairs are sorted and blended in water.
Nara
Nara Ittobori Carving
Chisel facets are left raw and then painted in strong colour and gold - a technique born from shrine festival dolls.
NaraArt & CraftsNara
Akahada Ware
Reddish clay under a milky glaze, painted with the naive figures known as Nara-e.
Nara
Nara Bleached Ramie
Ramie cloth whitened by water and sun alone, supplied to the shogunate for priests' and samurai dress.
Yoshino
Yoshino Cedar and Barrel Staves
Five centuries of planted forest, grown dense and slow so the rings stay fine - the timber that lines sake barrels.
NaraArt & CraftsNara
Nara Mosquito Nets
A loose hemp weave that stops insects but not air; when nets fell out of use the cloth survived as kitchen towels.
WakayamaArt & CraftsKainan
Kishu Lacquerware
Red lacquer over black, so wear reveals the black beneath - a craft that treats use itself as the finishing process.
Wakayama
Kishu Chests
Built in paulownia with almost no metal; the fit is so tight that pushing one drawer pushes another out.
Hashimoto
Kishu Fishing Rods
Bamboo from the Koyasan slopes joined through dozens of stages - treated less as tackle than as lacquerwork.
Aridagawa
Hoda Paper
A domain-sponsored paper that died out and was reconstructed by local people from surviving records.