Murakami Kibori Tsuishu Carved Lacquer Natsume Tea Caddy [2026]
Murakami Kibori Tsuishu is Niigata's hand-carved vermilion lacquerware from a northern castle town. This natsume tea caddy carries…
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Articles
Editorial features on Japan's regional crafts — the makers, the materials, and the places each piece comes from.
Ohi-yaki Amber-Glaze Matcha Chawan: Kanazawa’s Raku Tea Bowl [2026]
Ohi ware is Kanazawa's hand-formed, amber-glazed raku pottery, born from the Maeda domain's tea culture. This guide explains…
Kasama-yaki Rice Bowl: Ibaraki’s Edo-Born Pottery for Everyday Rice [2026]
Kasama-yaki is one of the Kanto region's oldest ceramic traditions, born under the Kasama domain in the 1770s…
Ozu Washi Calligraphy Paper: Ehime’s Handmade Hanshi Guide [2026]
Ozu Washi is Ehime's handmade kozo paper, drawn from the clear Hiji River since the Edo period. This…
Owari Shippo Cloisonne Pendant: Aichi Wired Enamel Jewelry [2026]
Owari Shippo is Aichi's silver-wired cloisonne enamel craft, born near Nagoya in the 1830s. This pendant turns glassy…
Nabeshima Dantsu Hand-Knotted Cotton Chair Pad: Where to Buy [2026]
Nabeshima Dantsu is Saga's hand-knotted cotton pile weave, once a Nabeshima-domain monopoly gifted to the shogunate. A small…
Honba Oshima Tsumugi Silk Eyeglass Case: Mud-Dyed Amami Craft [2026]
Honba Oshima Tsumugi is one of Japan's three great silk tsumugi, hand-woven on Amami Oshima and colored by…
Takaoka Shikki Aogai Raden Lacquer Box: Toyama Mother-of-Pearl Inlay [2026]
Toyama's Takaoka lacquer tradition shines in aogai raden — iridescent mother-of-pearl shell inlaid into deep urushi. A small…
Keijusha Etchu Yatsuo Washi Katazome Card Case: Where to Buy [2026]
A stencil-dyed (katazome) business card case made from Etchu Yatsuo washi, the Toyama paper once used to wrap…
Hirose Kasuri Indigo Table Runner: Shimane E-Gasuri Cotton Weave [2026]
Hirose Kasuri is Shimane's bold picture-kasuri, indigo-dyed cotton woven in Yasugi since the 1820s. This table runner brings…
Unshu Soroban Wooden Abacus: Where to Buy the Okuizumo Craft [2026]
Unshu Soroban is the wooden abacus of Okuizumo, Shimane, born in Japan's tatara iron-sand country. Hard local birch,…
Ueda Tsumugi Silk Gamaguchi Coin Purse: Nagano’s Sanada-Era Weave [2026]
Woven in Nagano's old Sanada castle town of Ueda, this striped saki-zome silk coin purse carries one of…
Uchiyama-gami Snow-Bleached Washi: Iiyama Kozo Paper Guide [2026]
Uchiyama-gami is snow-bleached kozo washi from Iiyama in Nagano's deep snow country, handmade for over 300 years for…
Toyohashi Fude: Aichi’s Hand-Blended Calligraphy Brush [2026]
Toyohashi in Aichi is one of Japan's three great brush towns, prized for hand-blended animal-hair calligraphy brushes. Here…
Tojiro DP Gyuto Chef Knife from Sanjo, Niigata: Where to Buy [2026]
A VG10-core, three-layer clad gyuto forged in Sanjo, Niigata's centuries-old blade town. The DP series is the benchmark…
Kasukabe Kiri Paulownia Wood Accessory Box: Saitama Woodwork Buying Guide [2026]
Kasukabe's nationally designated paulownia (kiri) woodwork turns Saitama's lightest wood into a moisture-regulating, fire-resistant box—ideal for storing kimono…
Hasami Ware Porcelain Rice Bowl: Everyday Kyushu Tableware [2026]
Hasami ware has set Japan's everyday tables for 400 years. This porcelain gohan chawan pairs Edo-born, mass-craft heritage…
Beppu Bamboo Basket (Beppu Takezaiku): Oita’s Hand-Woven Madake Kago [2026]
Beppu Takezaiku is Japan's only nationally designated bamboo craft, born from the rice and market baskets of Oita's…
Yamanaka Lacquer Natural Wood Free Cup: Where to Buy Turned Kaga Urushi [2026]
A free cup turned from vertical-grain wood and finished in wiped urushi by Yamanaka, the Kaga region whose…
Iwate Homespun Wool Scarf: Handwoven Tweed from Tohoku [2026]
Iwate's homespun weavers card, spin, and hand-loom pure wool into soft, lightweight tweed scarves. A Tohoku craft born…
Akita Ginsen-zaiku Silver Filigree Brooch: Where to Buy [2026]
Openwork lace twisted from hair-thin pure silver wire, rooted in the Satake clan's Edo-era silver mines. A look…
Suruga Sashimono Kiri Paulownia Accessory Box: Where to Buy [2026]
Suruga Sashimono is nail-free joinery woodwork born in Sumpu, where Tokugawa Ieyasu gathered master carpenters. This kiri (paulownia)…
Koshu Crystal Hand-Polished Sphere: Yamanashi Suisho Okimono Where to Buy [2026]
A hand-polished clear-quartz sphere from Kofu, Yamanashi — heart of Japan's only historic crystal-mining district and its jewelry…
Ushikubi Tsumugi Silk Stole: Hakusan’s Nail-Pulling Pongee [2026]
Woven at the foot of Mt. Haku from hand-drawn double-cocoon yarn, Ushikubi Tsumugi is the pongee so tough…
Oshima Tsumugi Silk Stole: Amami’s Mud-Dyed Kasuri Weave Guide [2026]
Oshima Tsumugi is one of the world's most labor-intensive silk weaves, dyed in Amami's iron-rich mud and woven…
Myochin Hibashi Furin: Where to Buy the Himeji Armorer’s Iron Wind Chime [2026]
Forged by a samurai-armorer lineage in Himeji, the Myochin hibashi furin turns iron fire chopsticks into a wind…
Bingo Kasuri Indigo Cotton Kinchaku Pouch: Where to Buy Hiroshima’s Heirloom Ikat [2026]
A drawstring kinchaku pouch woven from Bingo Kasuri, the indigo cotton ikat of eastern Hiroshima counted among Japan's…
Takaoka Shikki Raden Lacquer Tray: Where to Buy Toyama’s Urushi Craft [2026]
Takaoka Shikki pairs urushi lacquer with raden mother-of-pearl inlay, born in the same 1609 castle town that gave…
Kiso Oroku-gushi Wooden Comb: Nakasendo Minebari Hair Comb Guide [2026]
Hand-cut from dense minebari hardwood in Nagano's Kiso valley, the Oroku-gushi is a fine-tooth comb perfected along the…
Ise-Katagami Stencil: Suzuka’s Hand-Carved Komon Dyeing Paper from Mie [2026]
Ise-katagami are the persimmon-tanned washi stencils that gave Japan its komon and yuzen patterns. Hand-carved in Suzuka, Mie…
Awaji-ko Sandalwood Incense Sticks: Where to Buy Japan’s Senko [2026]
Awaji Island has perfumed Japan since agarwood drifted ashore in 595 AD. Here's where US readers can buy…
Shiraiwa-yaki Namako Blue Glaze Yunomi: Akita’s Oldest Pottery, Where to Buy [2026]
Shiraiwa-yaki is Akita's oldest ceramic, born in 1771 under the Satake clan's Kubota domain. Its signature namako-yu glaze…
Murakami Kibori Tsuishu Carved Lacquer Tea Saucer (Chataku): Where to Buy [2026]
Murakami Kibori Tsuishu is Niigata's carved-and-lacquered wood craft, where the grain is chiseled before layer upon layer of…
Chichibu Meisen Silk Stole: Where to Buy Saitama’s Taisho Ikat Silk [2026]
Chichibu Meisen is Saitama's reversible ikat silk, born from mountain sericulture and the daring patterns that dressed Taisho-era…
Ojiya Chijimi Ramie Stole: Niigata Snow-Country Crepe Linen, Where to Buy [2026]
Ojiya Chijimi is Niigata's snow-bleached ramie crepe, a UNESCO-listed summer textile with a crisp shibo pucker that lifts…
Kiso Hinoki Ohitsu Wooden Rice Container: Where to Buy [2026]
A wooden rice tub turned from Kiso cypress, the protected timber of Japan's central highlands. Its bare grain…
Hakata-ori Silk Gamaguchi Coin Purse: Where to Buy the Kenjo Weave [2026]
A firm, crisp silk coin purse woven in Fukuoka's 800-year Hakata-ori tradition, carrying the kenjo-gara stripe once presented…
Awa Washi Awagami Fine Art Paper: Tokushima’s Handmade Washi Sheets [2026]
Awagami Factory's Awa Washi is handmade kozo and mitsumata paper from Tokushima's Yoshino River, engineered into archival fine-art…
Sanuki Shikki Kinma Lacquer Natsume Tea Caddy: Where to Buy [2026]
Sanuki Shikki from Takamatsu carries Tamakaji Zokoku's Kinma carved-and-inlaid urushi tradition. A natsume tea caddy for matcha, distinct…
Hirashimizu-yaki Zankin Glaze Yunomi: Yamagata Pottery Tea Cup [2026]
Hirashimizu-yaki from Yamagata City fires local iron-rich clay into a nashiji 'pear-skin' celadon, its dark speckles surfacing through…