Connecting Cultures
Craft x Tech Tokai Project by Craft x Tech
‘Design becomes a common language that everyone can speak,’ says Dr Hideki Yoshimoto.
On a trip to Japan in 1951, legendary designer Isamu Noguchi visited a traditional paper lantern workshop. He went on to create a series of Akari light sculptures that introduced a centuries-old craft to an international audience.
‘The challenge, then as now, is that Japanese craft has many stories to tell, but those stories are not always shared. What I am doing with Craft x Tech is very much in the same spirit as Noguchi. But, because it’s 2026, we can be more ambitious, bringing together designers from all over the world to work with Japanese craftspeople. We need contemporary ways of thinking to expand design and craft’s possibilities,’ explains Dr Hideki Yoshimoto, Founder of design studio Tangent.
‘The challenge, then as now, is that Japanese craft has many stories to tell, but those stories are not always shared. What I am doing with Craft x Tech is very much in the same spirit as Noguchi.’
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The first edition of Craft x Tech, focusing on the Tohoku region of Japan, was exhibited at the London Design Festival in 2024. Its success led Yoshimoto to become even more ambitious. Working with Italian independent Curator Maria Cristina Didero, he chose to focus this year’s exhibition on the craftspeople of Tōkai. Situated between Tokyo and Osaka, this region is Japan’s manufacturing heartland, home to Toyota, as well as a centre for historic textile towns, ceramic kilns and artisan workshops.
To explore the region’s craft skills, refined through centuries-old traditions, Craft x Tech brought together six acclaimed international designers and artists. Ceramic artisan Yohei Ito was paired with Australian industrial designer David Caon, washi artisan Takanori Senda with Lanzavecchia + Wai; shibori artisan Hiroyuki Murase with Bethan Laura Wood; cloisonné manufacturer Shigeyuki Ando with Philippe Malouin; ceramics artisan Mayuki Kato with Eugene Kangawa of EUGENE STUDIO, and braided cord producer Tomoyuki Matsuda with Atang Tshikare.
‘We can be more ambitious, bringing together designers from all over the world to work with Japanese craftspeople. We need contemporary ways of thinking to expand design and craft’s possibilities.’
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As a designer himself, Yoshimoto provided a vital bridge between two very different worlds. ‘We are creators, so we have the same perspective. That’s so important. We translate, but it’s not just about language. We take ideas and sketches and make the designs happen. It’s not easy, as often we are communicating a design to an artisan who perhaps has never left Japan. We are the hidden third element, bringing all the disparate parts of this process together,’ he explains.
Yoshimoto was impressed by the willingness of Tōkai’s craftspeople to engage with ideas, however left field. ‘They never say no. In the early stages of development, designers aren’t constrained by limitations, presenting ambitious sketches and ideas. Rather than questioning, the craftspeople always said, ‘OK, we will think how to make it.’ They are proud of realising the designer’s ideas, because they make those ideas happen.’
‘They surprise us and surprise the craftspeople themselves. They also expand the boundaries of craft. Thanks to this project, artisans have discovered new capabilities and techniques. This broadens the possibilities for everyone.’
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Much of the ongoing inspiration for Craft x Tech is grounded in Yoshimoto’s own journey of discovery. ‘We want to find out more. That’s really at the heart of this project. We bring together diverse people from all over the world and ask them to reimagine traditional craft processes. They surprise us and surprise the craftspeople themselves. They also expand the boundaries of craft. Thanks to this project, artisans have discovered new capabilities and techniques. This broadens the possibilities for everyone.’
Yoshimoto sees Craft x Tech as a celebration of what happens when you bring different cultures together, blending modernity with tradition. ‘Design becomes a common language that everyone can speak,’ he says.
‘We want to find out more. That's really at the heart of this project. We bring together diverse people from all over the world and ask them to reimagine traditional craft processes.’
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Words by Tamsin Kingswell
