We want you to learn about the artisans’ dedication and keep using their work for years to come: An interview with Masahiro Nojima, owner of Kurashiki Mingei
From wooden tableware to folk crafts
Could you tell us how you came to open the shop?
Nojima (surname only)
Perhaps influenced by my grandfather, who was self-employed, I wanted to run a business from the start.
I studied business administration at university, then worked at an advertising agency for about two and a half years while researching possible careers. After that, I continued studying while working part-time so I could get into a line of work involving wood.
Originally, I wanted to handle wooden goods.
I wanted to deal in wooden items that people could use in their daily lives, so I started selling trays and wooden tableware. I remember learning that wooden tableware had been used in Japan since ancient times and realizing that Japanese genes must be embedded in me.
Later, while selling bamboo goods in the summer, I eventually found my way to folk crafts.
How do you choose the items in the shop?
Nojima
I choose items that are everyday necessities and that people will actually use.
Someone once told me that it was important to see lots of good things, so I did just that and looked at many fine items.
When I find a maker whose work I like, I visit them in person.
As I talk with the artisans directly, I choose items with an eye to whether their dedication and work resonate with my sensibilities.
There are as many ways to use an item as there are ways to see it
Could you tell us how you feel about the shop and its products?
Nojima
Folk crafts are made from natural materials, so you can enjoy how they change over time.
I hope people will use each item in many different ways over the years and make it their own.
One of the original ideas behind folk crafts is mitate—the art of seeing one thing as another.
For example, if you see an object as something else and use it in a different way, someone might compliment you by saying, “You have a good eye for mitate.”
What’s interesting is that although the makers’ names are displayed alongside the folk crafts, their intended uses are deliberately left unstated.
Of course, folk crafts have their original uses, but I hope people won’t be bound by them and will enjoy finding different ways to use them in everyday life.
Do you have any stories about the products and the people who visit the shop?
Nojima
I try to tell visitors as much as I can about what inspired each product and the ingenuity of the artisans who made it.
For example, artisans who make trays think of them as plates.
That’s why trays always have a slight dip toward the center, so that liquids like soup won’t spill.
When I hear things like this from artisans—things most people don’t know—I can’t help wanting to share them.
If the dip is too deep, the tray won’t work properly, so professionals make it just slightly concave.
Apparently, trays have been made with a dip in the center since long ago, but even the artisans don’t always know why.
That’s simply how trays are made. When I share this kind of knowledge, which is gradually fading away, people are fascinated.
When talking about how products came to be, I often tell people about the bowl used to serve white rice.
What do you call the bowl for serving rice? A chawan?
Strictly speaking, it’s called a meshiwan (rice bowl).
Once, when I visited an artisan, I said that he made chawan, and he told me, “I’ve never made a chawan in my life.”
That was when I first learned that a chawan is specifically for drinking tea, while rice is served in a meshiwan.
Since then, I’ve tried to look at things I took for granted from different angles.
When I look at the names of things, I ask myself whether this is the right name for it, or whether this is the right way to do it.
Japan has a culture of mitate, in which people enjoy using things in ways different from their original purpose. But I also believe it’s important for customers to learn how products came to be and about the ingenuity artisans have passed down over the years.
What are your hopes for the future?
Nojima
Above all, I want people to use these things. Buy them and use them.
Otherwise, the artisans won’t be able to thrive.
I believe people have to buy and use traditional items if we want to preserve them.
That’s probably my biggest goal.
Connecting makers and users
There’s no end to the stories Nojima has to tell.
“When artisans make a wooden frame, they deliberately leave gaps, taking into account how the wood will expand and contract.”
He explains this while tapping on the wooden frame of the shop’s display case.
He casually picks up one of the displayed bowls and tells us that the artist made it in this shape because they wanted a bowl just right for eating bean sweets. The stories just keep coming.
His wealth of knowledge comes from visiting artisans in person and learning about their dedication and how their vessels came to be.
His knowledge of wood adds to the conversation, taking us all across Japan.
Each story answers a small question we might otherwise pass over in our daily lives, while seeming to guide us to the very depths of Japanese culture.
He wants people to know that folk crafts are made for a reason and have meaning.
He hopes that, having learned this, people will enjoy using them in all kinds of ways that suit their lives, and use them for a long time, allowing the tools to grow with them.
Throughout all his stories, I felt that these thoughts remained at the heart of what he was saying.
Visiting the shop made me eager to bring folk crafts into my daily life—but it would be a shame to simply buy them and leave it at that!
When you visit Kurashiki Mingei, be sure to ask Nojima about how the tools came to be and what the artisans put into their work.
You may find that the history of Japanese culture adds a new depth to the everyday things you thought you knew.
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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