Prefecture makes perfect

How can centuries-old Japanese craft techniques be preserved for another hundred years? For Hideki Yoshimoto and Maria Cristina Didero of the exhibition Craft x Tech, the answer lies in uniting designers, technologists and artisans to create collectible design objects that elevate Japanese craft in the eyes of international audiences. After an initial presentation in Tokyo, Craft x Tech was showcased at Design Miami Basel and now London Design Festival at the V&A.

“Until about five years ago, I didn't know much about Japanese craft. I thought of it as the kind of objects you find at your parents’ or grandparents’ house or on the seventh floor of a department store in Tokyo, not as something relevant to my job as a designer,” says Yoshimoto, founder and creative director of Craft x Tech.

However, a decade spent studying and working in London gave Yoshimoto a newfound appreciation for his country’s heritage. His urge to breathe new life into Japan’s cultural treasures was sparked by a visit to an urushi lacquerware workshop in Akita prefecture, northern Japan. Kawatsura Shikki was originally used to protect samurai sword sheaths and armour about 800 years ago. Today, its main products are wooden bowls and plates covered in multiple layers of high-strength natural lacquer, often decorated with unique designs. “After my first encounter with the Kawatsura lacquerware artisans, my understanding of the craft changed 180 degrees. I found it artistic and alive. Suddenly, a miso soup bowl looked like a sculpture.”

The first edition of Craft x Tech features six collaborations with makers based in the Tohoku region of Japan’s main island: ‘Yōkan’ by Kawatsura Shikki and Sabine Marcelis; ‘Metropolis. I’ by Sendai Tansu and Studio SWINE; ‘Artifact #VII’ by Tsugaru Nuri and Ini Archibong; ‘ヌベルニ庵 / Null-Beni-An / Nouvelle Néant’ by Oitama Tsumugi and Yoichi Ochiai; ‘Blossom Links’ by Nambu Tekki and Michael Young; and ‘Rain’ by Aizu Hongo Yaki and Hideki Yoshimoto.

Didero, the curatorial director of the initiative, explains: “From the start, we wanted a heterogeneous selection of designers. Some were all about high tech, like Michael Young; others preferred analog solutions, like Ini Archibong, who built a synthesiser into a lacquerware piece, or Yoichi Ochiai, whom I think is a guru of our time, working across so many media with a big following among young people.”

According to Didero, the brief was simple. “It was really about collaboration and human exchange, to melt, associate and link their experiences in innovative ways to rejuvenate Japanese craftsmanship and take it to the next level. Even if most of these people didn’t speak a common language, they managed to establish deep, hands-on collaboration on a pretty articulated project.” For the artisans, it was exciting to apply techniques honed over such a long period to new challenges that gave them a fresh perspective.

Craft x Tech aims to be more than a fleeting success. More one-off collaborations are planned, along with products that could be produced in larger quantities to revitalise these industries. The initiative also has the potential to promote tourism beyond Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

“We learned so much during this first edition. Our goal is to eventually cover all the regions of Japan, so I’d say we have eight or nine years of work ahead of us,” concludes Didero.