4月27日、第三期心町家塾の入校式が聚楽猪飼邸で執り行われ、京町家の大工を目指す5名の受講生が新たな一歩を踏み出しました。 式典では、受講生一人ひとりが自己紹介を行い、その真剣な眼差しからは、町家大工としての未来への強い決意が感じられました。特に印象的だったのは、日本人の母親を持つKくんです。来日当初は日本語が話せなかった彼ですが、昨年一年間、祗園内藤工務店での見習い修行を経て、今ではほとんどの日本語を聞き取れるまでに成長していました。彼の努力と情熱が、これからどのように花開くのか、非常に楽しみです。 JC21のバイメルをはじめ、心町家塾をサポートしてくださる大工のみなさんからも温かい激励の言葉が贈られ、受講生たちは塾の理念と今後の学びについて理解を深めました。 入校式後には、徒歩圏内にある祗園内藤工務店の新築の町家建築現場を見学しました。現場では、実際に作業をしている大工さんに積極的に質問をしたり、町家の構造を間近で見たり、柱に触れてその質感を確かめたりと、受講生たちは熱心に学びを深めました。未来の町家大工たちの輝く瞳が、希望に満ちた一日を締めくくりました。

This is the second essay in a three-part series that started with The humble yunomi. In Japanese drinking culture, the container often matters as much as what fills it. May is my birthday month so in the spirit of celebrating life, I thought it would be appropriate to write about guinomi, the little cups used…

The Butterfly Effect: Sori Yanagi and the Art of Appreciation The saying goes that you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but what about celebrating them? In November last year, a diverse group of people working in the UK’s design industry gathered at the Vitra showroom in London to launch the Sori Yanagi Appreciation Society (SYAS). 　read…

When I’m asked about my interest in craftsmanship, especially that of Japan, I explain that at its core is the fact that circular principles are inherently baked in. Modern designers rightly focus on using sustainable materials, reducing waste, ensuring repairability, and promoting recycling. Japanese crafts go beyond this, intertwining material sustainability with social systems and…

June Online meeting with our Craft Leaders Group (winners from our contests so far) to update new programs and discuss the February 2025 Exhibition in Ginza. Sponsored a public event in Tokyo on swordsmanship featuring a 500-year-old martial arts group. We secured a permanent exhibition space for our Craft Leaders at The Terminal Kyoto, a…

I’m Gian and thought it was appropriate to re-introduce myself to the hundreds of new subscribers who have joined in the last few months (welcome and thank you!). When I started The Craftsman Newsletter in 2017 it was about recommending craft-related objects and people I encountered through my frequent travels. In time it evolved into original long-form…

Ceramics and tea culture are both close to my heart so when Hosai Matsubayashi XVI invited me to practise pottery at Asahiyaki it felt like a dream come true. In November 2023 I embarked on a research trip to Japan for my book on what we could learn from Japanese craftspeople, shokunin, to improve how we…

Alongside the first-time English publication of his essays, an exhibition on the Mono-ha artist surveys his extensive work on the medium. Kishio Suga’s sculptures and installations are muted, simple in their elements. But after close observation, one may notice the hidden truths of our surroundings beginning to articulate themselves. An exhibition running from January 15…

Inherited from tales by Buddhist preachers and now secularised, this solo performance involves a storyteller making the audience laugh. Rakugo, which literally translates as ‘art of fallen words’, is making a comeback on Japanese stages. Dating back to the 17th century and originating from Buddhist tradition, rakugo experienced its heyday in the Meiji era (1868-1912) and particularly…

The white star is particularly celebrated in Japan and has inspired various artists, whose works are featured in this leporello. The moon occupies a special place in Japanese society, one that Anne Sefrioui’s book, La lune par les grands maîtres de l’estampe (‘The Moon by the Great Printing Masters’), seeks to examine. This set, made up of…