Welcome
You know where Japan is, right? But what about Noto? Few people will have heard of it and even fewer people will have been there. Where is it? Well, take a look at a map and it’s the peninsula which juts out into the Japan Sea. Its fairly rugged coastline gives way to arboreous mountains, cultivated fields and lands which are sparsely populated. So, on the surface perhaps not too engaging. Look more closely, however, and you will find an interesting history, culture, climate and landscape as well as a number of individuals and their work all worthy of more attention.
One of the main aims of this blog, therefore, is to try and bring some of the virtually unsung and yet truly absorbing aspects of Noto to a much wider audience.
Simply speaking while this is our main aim, we are hoping, too, to be able to show how the peculiarities of the climate, history and the environment of Noto as a whole are reflected by its culture. By doing so we will also hope to relate something of its appeal.
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| Designer: Takashi Wakamiya |
A major component of the culture of Noto is Wajima lacquerware. Although its history probably dates back to sometime during the 12th century, it has been well-known outside Japan, principally in Europe, since the eighteenth century. More than anything else it was the fine delicately rendered designs in makie work that caught people’s attention and continue to hold a dedicated customer base abroad as well as in Japan. We will therefore hope to focus on this craft as it is such and integral element in the culture of the area and equally special among all of the acclaimed crafts, which have existed for so long in Japan.
Thirdly, we will inevitably need to focus on some of the major players, or should I say artisans and others, who are at work in Noto.
Lending their support to this blog, there is in fact a group of individuals that have come together as the Wajima Lacquer Study Group. Don’t be put off by the seemingly academic tone of the name of this group. While many of them are skilled craftspeople dedicated to the making of fine pieces of lacquerware, there is also a sprit of discovery and an urge to move forward into new areas and uses for the craft.
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| One of Wajima's main streets on an autumn morning. |
The connection with lacquerware and the food on which it is served is another topic we will seek to introduce. Both are a testament to the skills of the artisan and chef, and in turn expressive of the environment that is Noto.
We hope, therefore, to be able to introduce in English a variety of subjects gleaned directly from those who are not only representative of what is going on in Noto right now but also reflect in a multitude of ways the peculiarities of this peninsula.
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| A seafood breakfact after a visit to the street market. |
So who is behind this endeavor beside the Wajima Lacquer Study Group? The producer of this blog is Yuko Yokoyama, a long suffering and very knowledgeable champion of traditional crafts in Japan. She has dedicated herself to fostering crafts, which have an unassailable quality, are skill-based and have an untapped potential that the makers more often than not find difficult to exploit themselves. Yuko is, therefore, their flag bearer. It was Yuko, too, who was instrumental in the production of the Japan Crafts Sourcebook, the first book of its kind at the time and still available on the Net.
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| Customers at the Wajima Morning Market arrange for fresh squid to be couriered back home. |
And then there is me, Bill Tingey. Yuko and I have worked together on a number of projects related to traditional crafts since 1985, some focusing on design and promotion, while others have been workshops. Still others have been the translation of material into English, always with a view to widening the audience for traditional Japanese crafts.
I lived in Japan for 24 years and while I worked with Yuko on a number of occasions, I was also engaged on a large number of my own design and photographic projects as well as writing or translating material on traditional crafts, architecture and design.
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Photo Copy Right © Bill Tingey
