It was announced on Friday, March 13, 2026, that the recipient of the 16th Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award had been selected: Sunami Ryuki, who makes products from rushes.
Following this, the 16th Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award ceremony and a commemorative discussion between Sunami and Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Director Yanagisawa Hideyuki were held on Sunday, April 19, 2026. Here is a report on the day.
The information presented here is current as of the article’s publication in July 2026. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What Is the 16th Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award?
The Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award is presented by the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft in recognition of the achievements of its first director, Tonomura Kichinosuke. Since 1994, recipients have been selected once every three years.
Recipients are young individuals or groups who are active in the following fields and are expected to make even greater contributions in the future.
- Creating folkcrafts
- Training and developing craftspeople
- Promoting the Mingei movement
Eight nominations were received from across Japan for the 16th award. The recipient was Sunami Ryuki, who creates traditional rush products as the fifth-generation head of Sunami Toru Shoten, founded in 1886.
Sunami Ryuki, Recipient of the 16th Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award
Sunami, 32, was born in Kurashiki City and still lives there. As the fifth-generation head of Sunami Toru Shoten, founded in 1886, he creates traditional rush products.
Sunami became involved in making products from rushes after helping his grandmother Sakae, the wife of the third-generation head, make ikago baskets. She wove them from short rushes left over from making tatami mats and other products. In 2014, he began focusing exclusively on making ikago, applying traditional rush-weaving techniques while working to develop original products suited to modern life.
He is also actively involved in sharing a broad understanding of the role of Mingei today, serving as vice-chair of the Okayama Prefecture Mingei Association, a standing director of the Japan Folk Crafts Association, and an editorial committee member of the magazine Mingei.
The 16th Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award Ceremony
All the selection committee members for the 16th Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award came from across Japan to attend the ceremony. Around 40 people gathered in the Irori Room at the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft, including Sunami’s fellow ikago makers, people from shops he works with, and the Kurashiki mayor.
Ohara Kenichiro, chairman of the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Foundation, congratulated Sunami, saying, “The award going to a local maker is proof that Kurashiki has been recognized as a haven of Mingei,” and presented him with a certificate and a 300,000-yen prize.
Kurashiki City Mayor Ito Kaori thanked Sunami for his ongoing willingness to help promote the city. She also noted that event participants had praised the warmth and rich fragrance of the ikago, and offered her congratulations, saying, “We are proud of this award.”
The judges also voiced their high hopes for Sunami’s future, and the award ceremony was held in a warm, friendly atmosphere.
Sunami commented on receiving the award as follows:
The Commemorative Discussion for the 16th Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award
After the ceremony, a commemorative discussion lasting about an hour was held at the same venue. Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Director Yanagisawa Hideyuki drew out Sunami’s personality and thoughts on Mingei.
Sunami, a Collector, Talks About His Encounter with Mingei
Yanagisawa’s first question was, “I have a strong impression that you collect sneakers. Do you enjoy collecting things?”
Sunami has enjoyed collecting things since he was young. Today, in addition to sneakers, he collects interior decor, tools, baskets, mats, and other woven and braided items, which he displays in his workshop.
It all began with Pokemon, which he was hooked on as a child. Pokemon involves battles, too, but Sunami found it more interesting to complete the encyclopedia. Apparently, his personality—enjoying steadily collecting things at his own pace—has not changed since childhood.
Sunami first learned the word “Mingei” when he was 18 or 19.
It was when he visited the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo, prompted by an exhibition featuring work by his grandmother, who was an ikago craftsperson.
Sunami had already woven and assembled ikago baskets by then, and says that at the exhibition he paid attention to the materials used for baskets from various regions.
His family had made hanagoza mats for generations, so he had known the word “Mingei” since childhood. However, he says that was the first time he encountered its roots.
He went on to become a professional ikago maker at 21, and began visiting senior Mingei artists in Kurashiki who worked in fields such as pottery to hear their stories. He says that at the time, even when they handed him a folkcraft item and asked, “What do you think?”, he could not answer.
Even so, Sunami continued collecting folkcrafts, and before he knew it, his workshop had become something like a museum of collected items.
Sunami, a Maker, Talks About the Current State and Future Prospects of Ikago Production
Next, the focus turned to Sunami as a maker.
Sunami continues to adapt the shapes and details of his ikago to suit modern life, while following the weaving techniques of his grandmother, the previous generation. His grandmother mainly made “yami-kago,” baskets used in black markets after the war. After realizing that ikago could be made in many different ways to suit people’s lifestyles, he began producing a wide variety of them.
When creating new variations, the properties and durability of the materials serve as a guide. Making use of rush’s lightness, though it is not as strong as resin, he strives to create products that people want and says he wants to connect with society through ikago production.
Sunami Toru Shoten’s ikago are made using rushes from Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture. Rushes were once widely grown in Nishi-Achi and Chayamachi in Kurashiki City as well, but are no longer produced there.
Ikago are made using short rushes left over from producing tatami mats and other products, so the makers cannot choose their materials. Production costs have also risen year by year.
That is why, whether the rushes that arrive are in good condition—good in color, supple, and resilient—or not, he believes that the finished products should all have a consistent quality. That is where a maker’s skill comes into play.
He currently makes ikago with his wife, Shiho, and other colleagues. In the future, he hopes to take on a role like a producer, entrusting work to people who excel at it, while continuing to create products that help sustain the production region.
Sunami, an Advocate for Mingei, Talks About His Thoughts on the Okayama Prefecture Mingei Association
Alongside his work as one of the few ikago craftspeople in Japan, Sunami also devotes himself to promoting the Mingei movement, serving as vice-chair of the Okayama Prefecture Mingei Association, a standing director of the Japan Folk Crafts Association, and an editorial committee member of the magazine Mingei.
Yanagisawa and audience members asked him about what led him to take on the role of sharing Mingei, in addition to working as a maker.
Sunami often visited the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft, where the award commemorative conversation was held, and has received much inspiration there. He says that when he is unsure, returning to the museum, viewing the exhibits and straightening his back, and the desire to one day create works that would not look out of place alongside those displayed at the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft are the driving forces behind his work.
That is why he said he feels he wants to play a role in invigorating the folkcraft industry, while repaying the Okayama Prefecture folkcraft associations for nurturing him.
From the Writer
Sunami, born in 1993, is the same age as the writer. I had thought that an honor like this was still a distant prospect for my generation, so I was very curious about the circumstances behind Sunami’s award.
What left a strong impression on me during the interviews was that everyone who took the microphone, both at the award ceremony and at the commemorative talk, shared a message expressing their hopes for Sunami’s “future.”
I felt that the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award is not simply a venue for celebrating honors, but a hopeful award through which many pioneers involved in folkcraft support people in their 30s who will carry folkcraft into the future.
How will Sunami help invigorate Okayama Prefecture’s long-established folkcraft industry and its handcraft traditions?
We’ll be keeping a close eye on what comes next.
Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award Ceremony and Commemorative Talk Information
| Name | Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft Award Ceremony and Commemorative Talk |
|---|---|
| Date | April 19, 2026 (Sunday) Award ceremony: 2:00 p.m. Commemorative talk: 3:00 p.m. |
| Location | 1-4-11 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Website | Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft |
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
Enter a search term to find articles on this site
As a maker, I still have a long way to go, so I feel humbled and wonder, “Am I really the right person for this?”
When I first made ikago for a living, I worried, “Will this really become a job?” But with the support of people in the community, I have continued making them because I want other people to think that the things I like are good, too.
I owe this award from the historic Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft to the people around me, including the producers and the friends who make these products with me. I will continue to devote myself to making things and to the Mingei movement, without forgetting how grateful I am.