Crafts
Lacquerware, ceramics, washi paper, swords, origami and the craftsman tradition.
54 entriesTap a title to open the full entry: three lengths of English explanation, the questions people actually ask, ready-made phrases and audio.
Essential（6）
- ClothingEssential tenugui手ぬぐいa thin cotton cloth
- ClothingEssential furoshiki風呂敷a wrapping cloth
- CraftsEssential kintsugi金継ぎrepairing broken pottery with lacquer and gold
- CraftsEssential origami折り紙paper folding
- CraftsEssential noren暖簾the split cloth curtain hung at a shop entrance
- FolkloreEssential senbazuru千羽鶴a thousand folded cranes, given as a wish for recovery or peace
Standard（28）
- ArtsStandard stone lanterns and water basins石灯籠と蹲踞the stone furniture of a Japanese garden
- ArtsStandard mokuhanga木版画the woodblock printing behind ukiyo-e
- CraftsStandard yosegi-zaiku寄木細工Hakone wooden marquetry made from woods of different natural colors
- CraftsStandard magewappa曲げわっぱa bentwood box made from a thin sheet of cedar
- CraftsStandard nishikigoi錦鯉ornamental koi carp bred for color, once called swimming jewels
- CraftsStandard netsuke根付a small carved toggle once used to hang a pouch or case from a kimono sash
- CraftsStandard maki-e蒔絵lacquer decoration made by sprinkling gold or silver powder onto wet lacquer
- CraftsStandard urushi漆器lacquerware
- CraftsStandard yakimono no sanchi焼き物の産地the pottery towns that each make a distinct kind of ware
- CraftsStandard tatami craftsman畳職人the maker of tatami mats, a shrinking trade that still measures every room by hand
- CraftsStandard shokunin職人the craftsman, as an identity
- CraftsStandard ningen kokuho人間国宝a Living National Treasure, a state-certified master of a traditional art or craft
- CraftsStandard mizuhiki水引decorative cord on gift envelopes
- CraftsStandard sensu扇子folding fan
- CraftsStandard kumiko組子geometric wooden lattice patterns assembled without a single nail
- CraftsStandard chochin提灯paper lanterns
- CraftsStandard tojiki陶磁器Japanese pottery and porcelain
- CraftsStandard nihonto日本刀the Japanese sword
- CraftsStandard furin風鈴wind chimes
- CraftsStandard Arita ware and Imari ware有田焼と伊万里焼Japan's first porcelain, and the export port that gave it a second name in the West
- CraftsStandard aizome藍染indigo dyeing
- CraftsStandard washi和紙traditional Japanese paper
- Home & LivingStandard kawara yane瓦屋根the tiled roof
- Home & LivingStandard gassho-zukuri and thatched roofs合掌造りと茅葺きthe steep thatched farmhouses of the snow country
- Home & LivingStandard wooden architecture木造建築why Japan builds in wood
- Home & LivingStandard wooden houses木造住宅why Japanese homes are rebuilt, not resold
- Modern JapanStandard food samples食品サンプルthe plastic food in restaurant windows
- Work CultureStandard shokunin no koukeisha busoku職人の後継者不足the shortage of successors for traditional craftspeople
Advanced（20）
- CraftsAdvanced kokeshiこけしwooden dolls from the north
- CraftsAdvanced denden daikoでんでん太鼓the pellet drum you shake to quiet a baby
- CraftsAdvanced miyadaiku宮大工temple and shrine carpenters
- CraftsAdvanced Edo kiriko江戸切子cut glass from Tokyo
- CraftsAdvanced Nishijin-ori西陣織figured silk weaving from Kyoto
- CraftsAdvanced kumihimo組紐braided cord
- CraftsAdvanced takezaiku竹細工bamboo craft
- CraftsAdvanced katana kaji刀鍛冶the swordsmiths who still forge Japanese blades by hand
- CraftsAdvanced Nambu tekki南部鉄器Nambu cast ironware
- CraftsAdvanced hyogushi表具師the craftsperson who mounts hanging scrolls, folding screens and sliding doors
- CraftsAdvanced the mingei movement民芸運動the 1926 movement that found beauty in everyday objects made by unnamed craftspeople
- CraftsAdvanced Kiso hinoki木曽のひのきprized cypress from a valley protected by a harsh Edo-era logging law
- CraftsAdvanced kigumi木組みjoining timber without nails
- CraftsAdvanced yuzen友禅resist-dyed pictorial kimono
- CraftsAdvanced Wajima-nuri輪島塗the lacquerware of Wajima, built up in over a hundred separate steps
- CraftsAdvanced warosoku和ろうそくJapanese plant-wax candles
- Annual EventsAdvanced hari kuyo針供養a memorial service for broken needles
- Home & LivingAdvanced ranma欄間the carved panel above the sliding doors
- ShintoAdvanced shikinen sengu式年遷宮rebuilding the shrine every twenty years
- ShintoAdvanced shrine architecture神社の建築how to read the buildings of a Shinto shrine