What comes to mind when you hear the term folk crafts?
Folk crafts are items made for everyday use, designed to be easy to use and last a long time.
Because they are used every day, their ease of use is refined, giving rise to the idea of beauty in utility.
Even an ordinary tool has a story behind how it came to look the way it does today.
We visited “Teshigoto no Mise Kurashiki Mingei,” a folk craft shop that connects Japanese culture with everyday life.
The information presented here was accurate when this article was published in July 2022. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About Teshigoto no Mise Kurashiki Mingei
Walk a short distance from the west approach entrance of Achi Shrine toward the Bikan Historical Area, and you’ll see a shop with a charming appearance on your right.
The shop is called Teshigoto no Mise Kurashiki Mingei (hereafter, Kurashiki Mingei). It mainly sells folk crafts made of wood and bamboo.
It opened on January 1, 1980. Now in its 43rd year of business, the shop is filled with items the owner has gathered by visiting artisans.
Kurashiki Mingei originally began in another location in the Hondori Shopping Street.
About 10 years after opening, it moved to its current location, which was given to the owner by an acquaintance.
The shopping street is lined with buildings featuring reddish-brown lower walls and white upper walls. Among them, the shop’s particularly imposing sign and exterior welcome visitors.
The windows on either side of the entrance reportedly reuse samurai latticework that was once used at the Kurashiki Magistrate’s Office.
When the shop’s exterior was renovated, someone asked that the samurai latticework, which was due to be discarded, be put to use, giving it its present appearance.
The story of the samurai latticework, which has endured through history, adds to the charm of this folk craft shop, where items await the chance to be used for a long time.
Folk crafts selected with the shopkeeper’s discerning eye and knowledge
Inside the shop ~ Folk crafts waiting to be discovered around every corner
As you enter the shop, familiar everyday items such as soup bowls and chopsticks greet you.
After gazing at the friendly-looking vessels, I looked around the shop and spotted kitchen tools for everyday use on the left.
Though neatly arranged, each one had a completely different character, and I found myself gazing at the products here, too.
The placement of the knots and the colors made me feel that if I picked one up, I would surely find one that was uniquely mine.
Across from the kitchen tools were wooden cups.
Some let you enjoy the color of lacquerware, while others have interesting wood grain.
The gentle ridges and fine, wave-like grooves made them look easy to hold.
At the same time, I was struck by the meticulous handiwork of the artisans, and an exclamation escaped me.
At the end of my look around the shop, my eyes settled on the magewappa displayed in front of the register.
It was my first time seeing a two-tier magewappa lunch box, and I was astonished.
To think that such beautiful curves could be made from wood—this is truly the work of a master artisan! I marveled.
There are other items that make you want to exclaim, “What craftsmanship!”
Wild grapevine basket bags
One of Kurashiki Mingei’s most popular products is its wild grapevine basket bags.
Each item is carefully handmade, and reportedly can be used for 100 years.
Making wild grapevine basket bags was originally a winter handcraft in the cold northern regions of Japan.
The wild grapevine tendrils used reportedly can only be woven properly if they grow in cold regions.
The bags on display featured a variety of weaving patterns.
Some time ago, the teachers at the nursery my child attended made Christmas wreath bases using wisteria vines.
They reused vines from the wisteria trellis that blooms in the nursery garden every year.
I remembered one of the teachers telling me, “If they dry out too much, they become hard and difficult to work with.”
Once again, I was captivated by the regular weave before me.
If there are people who make things that last 100 years, I felt that we should use them for generations and pass them down to those who come after us.
Wooden vessels
At the back of the shop is an area displaying wooden vessels.
Some are unfinished, showcasing the natural texture of the wood, while others have a protective finish.
Though both are wooden vessels, I was surprised by how different they look depending on the finish.
Even though these are all soup bowls, you can see that the grain looks completely different because they were made from different parts of the tree.
As a matter of fact, my interest in woodworking once led me to try making a wooden plate, but it didn’t turn out to be something I could use every day.
Wood often has knots and grain that runs in different directions, so it can’t always be carved in the same way.
It takes time and effort, even with machinery, to polish rough wood until its surface feels smooth to the touch.
The rims of the soup bowls on display had been rounded gently, perhaps to fit the mouth.
I felt I had caught a glimpse of the care artisans have passed down through generations, investing time and effort to make the bowls easy to use.
Apparently, wooden vessels have been used in Japan since ancient times.
Without wooden vessels, Japan’s distinctive dining customs—such as lifting a dish containing freshly cooked food and drinking directly from it—might never have developed.
Their light weight, ease of handling, and ability to keep food warm are among the many qualities that make wooden vessels—and folk crafts in general—so appealing.
We spoke with shop owner Masahiro Nojima about the appeal of folk crafts and the stories behind the various items.
Teshigoto no Mise Kurashiki Mingei details
| Name | Teshigoto no Mise Kurashiki Mingei |
|---|---|
| Address | 2-17-25 Achi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-425-3184 |
| Parking | Available 1–2 hours free regardless of purchase amount (participating shopping district parking lots) |
| Hours | 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. During the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced hours until 6:00 p.m. (temporary measure) |
| Closed | Monday Open on public holidays (if a holiday is observed on another day, closed Wednesday) |
| Payment methods |
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