Miyajima Crafts — On-site Craft Residency Held!

From Friday, February 27 to Sunday, March 1, we held an On-site Craft Residency. Over the three days, participants toured artisans’ workshops and took part in hands-on activities with Miyajima’s traditional crafts; five participants observed and experienced shakushi (rice paddles), Miyajima-bori carving, and Miyajima turnery.
　

　
The program opened with a Miyajima-bori hands-on session led by Certified Traditional Craftsman Mr.Ohno, followed by a workshop tour at Kuramoto Shakushi Works. Participants also observed and tried Miyajima turnery with Certified Traditional Craftsman Mr.Fujimoto and cooperative member Mr.Shimomura, and toured the workshop of Oda Wood Works. On the final day we held a round-table discussion about relocation with representatives from Hatsukaichi City Hall.
　

　
By seeing the behind-the-scenes of craftwork — opportunities that are rarely available to the public — we hope participants gained a deeper appreciation for the beauty of Miyajima crafts and a multifaceted sense of the challenges they face.

At the end of the program participants exchanged opinions and ideas about Miyajima crafts. We received many suggestions and will incorporate them into future efforts to promote Miyajima crafts.

This was a new initiative for our cooperative, and we were both surprised and greatly encouraged by the large number of applications we received — far exceeding our capacity.

Thank you very much to the five participants, everyone who applied, and to Japan Traditional Crafts Association and Nippon Teshigoto Zukan for their support.

We look forward to seeing you again!