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Japanese Traditional Crafts: An Overview
A plain-language guide to Japanese traditional crafts: lacquer, paper, pottery, weaving and metalwork, how they connect, and why these traditions endure.
Arts and Crafts
Traditional Crafts
Lacquer, paper, pottery, weaving and metalwork.
Kintsugi: Repairing Pottery with Gold
Kintsugi mends broken ceramics with lacquer and metallic powder. Learn how the repair tradition works, where it came from, and how it relates to imperfection.
The Art of Japanese Lacquerware: A Study of Its History and Significance
Trace Japanese lacquerware from prehistoric finds through the Edo period, and see how lacquer shaped ritual objects, tea utensils and everyday bowls and trays.
The Art of Japanese Lacquerware: A Study of Urushi and Its Significance
Urushi is the sap of the lacquer tree. Learn how it is collected, why it hardens in humidity, how it is layered, and why raw urushi can irritate skin.
The Art of Japanese Metalwork: A Study of Japanese Swordsmithing
A respectful look at Japanese swordsmithing as craft and culture: the smith's role, steel and polishing, ritual meaning, and how the sword is appreciated today.
The Art of Japanese Papermaking: A Study of Washi and Its Significance
Washi is handmade Japanese paper made from long plant fibers. Learn how the papermaking idea works and how washi is used in books, screens, lanterns and crafts.
The Art of Japanese Pottery: A Study of Raku and Hagi
Compare two Japanese pottery traditions, Raku and Hagi: their ties to tea bowls, their origins, and how they differ in clay, firing, look and feel in the hand.
The Art of Japanese Weaving: A Study of its History and Significance
An introduction to Japanese hand weaving: early fibers and looms, silk and bast cloths, pre-dyed thread patterns, and the regional cloths that grew from local needs.
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