Marugame Lantern

Bamboo craft produced in Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. Manufactured since the Edo period as bamboo baskets and tea utensils, with highly developed techniques of splitting and combining bamboo. Features delicate, elegant weaving patterns, valued for both functionality and aesthetic merit.

Wooden lanterns manufactured in Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture, since the Edo period. Using bamboo frames and hand-painted washi paper, traditional methods produce lightweight, durable, and beautiful lanterns. Used in summer festivals, Bon dances, and memorial services, they represent Japan's lantern tradition. Marugame production accounts for a significant portion of Japan's domestic lantern manufacturing.

Bamboo craft produced in Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. Manufactured since the Edo period as bamboo baskets and tea utensils, with highly developed techniques of splitting and combining bamboo. Features delicate, elegant weaving patterns, valued for both functionality and aesthetic merit.

Bamboo craft produced in Beppu, Oita Prefecture. Developed alongside the town's growth as a hot spring resort from the Edo period, creating baskets, tables, and household items. Characterized by thin bamboo splitting and complex weaving techniques, balancing traditional methods with contemporary design. Designated as a National Traditional Craft.

A lacquerware craft tradition passed down for over 600 years in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture. It is renowned for its durability achieved through the unique jinoko undercoat technique and its gorgeous ornamentation using chinkin and maki-e. It is considered one of the finest traditional crafts in Japan.

A luxury silk textile with over 1,200 years of history in Kyoto's Nishijin district. Characterized by elaborate patterns woven with gold and silver threads, it is renowned as the finest material for obi sashes and kimono. Its complex pre-dyed weaving techniques represent the zenith of Japanese textile art.

A traditional Japanese art of expressing characters artistically using brush and ink. Introduced from China, it evolved uniquely in Japan through kana calligraphy. Each stroke is said to embody the writer's spirit, and the irreversibility of each mark creates both tension and beauty. It is widely practiced and incorporated into school education.