List of Traditional Crafts of Japan

As set out in Article 1 of the 1974 Act, the purpose of Traditional Craft industries and their promotion is to enrich the lives of the citizens and, due to their particular geographic nature, contribute to the development of local economies and, thereby, that of the nation as a whole.{{cite web |url=https://elaws.e-gov.go.jp/document?lawid=349AC1000000057 |script-title=ja:伝統的工芸品産業の振興に関する法律 |trans-title=Act on the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries |language=ja |publisher=Digital Agency |access-date=21 July 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/mono/nichiyo-densan/hojokin/fullversion_guidebook_2205.pdf |script-title=ja:伝統的工芸品産業の自立化に 向けたガイドブック (令和4年5月) |trans-title=Guidebook Aimed at the Independence of the Traditional Craft Industry |language=ja |publisher=Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry |date=May 2022 |access-date=21 July 2024}}{{rp|10}} This economic angle helps distinguish the designation of Traditional Crafts under the 1974 Act from that of traditional crafts as Intangible Cultural Properties under the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties.{{rp|10}} Financial assistance is available under both frameworks; that for Traditional Crafts focuses on five activities, namely, the training of successors, the recording of technologies and techniques, the securing of raw materials, the evolution of creative concepts and designs, and the development of demand.{{rp|10}}

In FY2016, 62,690 individuals were employed in the Traditional Crafts industry, down from 288,000 in 1979, with production valued at ¥96 billion, down from ¥540 billion in 1983.{{cite web |url=https://kyokai.kougeihin.jp/current-situation/ |script-title=ja:現状 |trans-title=Current Situation |language=ja |publisher=Traditional Crafts Industry Promotion Association |access-date=21 July 2024}} Analysis by the {{ill|Traditional Crafts Industry Promotion Association|qid=Q104386945}} locates these trends within the broader context of the changes in lifestyles and employment attendant upon the nation's post-war economic growth, identifying seven principal explanatory strands: displacement by highly industrialized, mass-produced—and, as a consequence, cheaper—mass market goods; the decline of rural areas and the primary industries, such as agriculture and forestry, that provide many of the materials; construction that has posed obstacles to the sourcing of materials; changes in the education system and the employment environment that discourage the necessary apprenticeships from a young age and a life of modest, manual labour; changes in lifestyle amongst consumers, with increasing urbanization and westernization; changes in attitude towards everyday items, with a move towards disposable items chosen on the basis of fashion, novelty, and price; and changes in the family system, with the nuclear family and single households militating against transmission across generations. At the same time, there are a number of possible sources of hope: the increased demand for high-quality products typically concomitant with prosperity; interest in unique, regional cultures; new appreciation of "wa" and "monozukuri", including the burgeoning of demand in the West; and a growing awareness of the benefits of a circular economy.

To be eligible for designation, as specified in Article 2 of the 1974 Act, the craft must be:{{cite web |url=https://kogeijapan.com/locale/en_US/Aboutdensan/ |title=What is Kogei |publisher=Kogei Japan |access-date=21 July 2024}}

• primarily for use in everyday life
• predominantly manual in its production processes
• manufactured using traditional technologies and techniques
• chiefly created using traditionally-prepared and -employed materials
• from a particular area, where a not-negligible number of persons are involved in its production

For these purposes, "traditional" means a history and continuity of at least one hundred years;{{rp|11}} a "not-negligible number of persons" implies at least ten enterprises or thirty individuals, so as to ensure a scale of operations sufficient to uphold reliability; if the relevant raw materials have been exhausted or are now extremely difficult to source, a substitute is permissible so long as the flavour of the original is not lost; "technologies and techniques" refer to the skills and practices of the individual craftsman as well as the know-how accumulated within the industry, with refinements permitted so long as the craftworks' key characteristics remain fundamentally unchanged; "predominantly manual" requires the craftwork's form, features, and quality to be the product of the hand, although usage of machinery is permitted for auxiliary processes; and "use in everyday life" may include occasional and one-off events such as festivals, weddings, and funerals, if closely connected to ordinary households.

With the designation of crafts in Chiba Prefecture and Kumamoto Prefecture in 2003, and of two craft traditions pertaining to the Ainu of Hokkaidō in 2013, at least one craft has been designated in each of the 47 prefectures.{{cite web |url=https://kyokai.kougeihin.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/shitei-specified-order_20231026.pdf |script-title=ja:伝統的工芸品指定品目・指定順 |trans-title=List of designated Traditional Crafts in order of their designation |language=ja |publisher=Traditional Crafts Industry Promotion Association |date=26 October 2023 |access-date=21 July 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://kyokai.kougeihin.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/shitei-area_20231026.pdf |script-title=ja:伝統的工芸品指定品目一覧・都道府県別 |trans-title=List of designated Traditional Crafts by precture |language=ja |publisher=Traditional Crafts Industry Promotion Association |date=26 October 2023 |access-date=21 July 2024}} As of 26 October 2023, Tokyo has the highest number of designated crafts (22), followed by Kyōto Prefecture (17), Niigata Prefecture and Okinawa Prefecture (16), Aichi Prefecture (15), and Ishikawa Prefecture (10), Aomori Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture having but one apiece. The 241 designated crafts are divided into fifteen categories: woven textiles (38), dyed textiles (14), other textiles (5), ceramics (32), lacquerware (23), wood and bamboo (33), metalwork (16), Butsudan and Buddhist ritual implements (17), washi (9), writing tools (10), stonework (4), precious stonework (2), dolls and kokeshi (10), other (25), and craft materials & tools (3).{{cite web |url=https://kyokai.kougeihin.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/shitei-Industry_20231026.pdf |script-title=ja:伝統的工芸品指定品目一覧・業種別 |trans-title=List of designated Traditional Crafts by industry |language=ja |publisher=Traditional Crafts Industry Promotion Association |date=26 October 2023 |access-date=21 July 2024}}

{{Commons category|Traditional Crafts of Japan (METI)}}

• Intangible Cultural Properties
• National Crafts Museum
• Folk Cultural Properties
• Mingei

{{Reflist}}

• {{in lang|en}} [https://kogeijapan.com Traditional Crafts of Japan]
• {{in lang|ja}} [https://kyokai.kougeihin.jp/traditional-crafts/ Traditional Crafts of Japan]

Category:Japanese crafts