Panda diplomacy softens sharp edge of China's foreign policy
YUKIO TAJIMA
BEIJING -- When all four of the pandas at Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Japan, were sent back to China, the local community was overwhelmed with a sense of "panda loss."
It was late June when the pandas left the park in Wakayama prefecture, heading home to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's southwestern province of Sichuan. About a week before the pandas returned, the facility was bustling with tourists.
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Japan Times
18 hours ago
- Japan Times
The international artists supporting Japan's craft legacy
Japanese crafts are in high demand around the world. Both domestic and international consumers value these quality goods made by meticulous methods and infused with distinctive regional aesthetics. While this seems promising for Japanese craftspeople, one looming question remains: Will there be enough of them in the future to meet growing demand? As Japan grapples with a declining population, its craft heritage has been hit especially hard. The number of traditional artisans has dropped significantly due to discontinuities in family-owned businesses and the migration of younger generations from rural to urban areas. This has resulted in an uncertain future for certain crafting disciplines, such as urushi lacquerware, textile weaving and dyeing and woodturning. However, a new generation of international artists has been training in Japanese traditions with aspirations to help carry the legacy forward. Rabea Ferber, 27, is part of this wave. When her then-fiance enrolled in an MFA in ceramics at Tokyo University of the Arts, Ferber decided to take the leap and join him, traveling from her home country of Germany to Japan on a working holiday visa in 2020. Ferber had initially begun woodworking as a hobby while studying product design at university. Determined to continue her passion, she completed a two-year course at the Ishikawa Prefectural Institute for Yamanaka Lacquerware in Yamanaka Onsen. Ferber and her husband, Ido, eventually made a full-time home in Ishikawa, where they have their own studio to sell her wood and lacquer tableware and his ceramic pieces. Hailing from Germany, Rabea Ferber (center) and her husband live and work in Ishikawa Prefecture, not only selling their own crafts but highlighting local artisans through their website, Sentomono. | Courtesy of Rabea Ferber 'What we like about Yamanaka, the reason we decided to stay, is that it's a really small community and everyone knows each other,' Ferber says. Her dedication to Japanese crafts earns her bonus points from local residents. 'Whenever I tell them I came here to study craft, they respond, 'Wow, you're really dedicated! It's wonderful that you came here!' There's a lot of pride there.' In Ferber's view, schools and artisan communities that offer training are concerned that students, whether domestic or international, won't stick around. 'The worry is that a lot of people come here, they study, and then they leave and don't continue the craft or don't contribute to the area,' she says, 'so there's a big desire to have people stay.' Forging community For the past four years, Canadian-born Jesse Cunningham, 42, has been working as a blacksmith in rural Kochi Prefecture. After training and working as a blacksmith in Canada and Spain, he wanted to transition into toolmaking — and where better than the land that's home to the legendary katana? Cunningham initially came to Japan through the JET Programme, teaching English in Oita Prefecture while keeping an eye out for opportunities. He eventually discovered a forge run by blacksmith Nobuya Hayashi in Kochi that offered short classes. 'I joined one of the workshops and, during that time, I found out there was a longer (class) I could take,' says Cunningham. 'So after I finished my teaching contract, I came back over and did a weeklong workshop.' But a week's training wasn't going to cut it. 'I heard that, in Japan, it's impolite to straight up ask for a position. However, I wasn't above dropping a lot of pretty serious hints about wanting to continue on.' After some discreet back-and-forth communications with Hayashi, Cunningham was formally asked to stay on at the forge. Hayashi supported his visa change paperwork and even helped him and his partner find housing in an akiya (abandoned home) for rent nearby. Over the years, Cunningham and Hayashi have developed a strong working relationship. 'When it started, we didn't know where it was going to go or how it was going to work, because he'd never had an employee before. But I can optimistically say it's going well.' Beyond their local ties, both Ferber and Cunningham have built a wider network through their craft. Ferber and her husband met many colleagues through their training, some of whom they feature on their website, Sentomono, which helps sell their work to global clients. 'We've met many young artists who, compared to us, have little to no internet presence and don't sell abroad at all. We, on the other hand, have a huge interest in our work from foreign customers,' Ferber says. 'Though we're learning Japanese craft from Japanese people, we have an advantage selling because we can better access the international market. We felt this was unfair. At the same time, we want to help the artists that we personally know.' Under Hayashi's tutelage, Cunningham has also collaborated with other craftspeople from across Japan, including those interested in workshop pedagogy. 'We had two other blacksmiths in the workshop the other week: a garden toolmaker from central Honshu ... and one of our neighbor blacksmiths (who) popped in to watch our workshops because he's also thinking of doing them,' he says. 'That was really fun because he's an excellent blacksmith.' Connections beyond nationality As Japan's crafting culture grows in popularity, the study of Japanese craft has traveled well beyond the country's borders. Ceramic artist Virginija Kliseviciute Fujie, 38, first encountered Japanese crafts in a foundation course at Leksand Folk High School in Sweden. 'The school has a very good connection with Japanese craft and a number of Japanese exchange students would visit,' Fujie explains. 'It even had a Japanese (wood-fired) kiln, an anagama, which is rare to see in Sweden.' This experience inspired Fujie to spend close to four months at Tokyo Zokei University in 2013, an exchange program through which she studied classical sculpture. 'I studied a lot of practical sculpture, working with models, and I also tried stone carving, which I loved,' she says. 'I had ... the old guard teaching me, masters who had worked there for 50 to 60 years, and they retired just after I finished — so I was incredibly lucky.' She also happened to meet her husband during this period. Virginija Kliseviciute Fujie first encountered Japanese ceramics as a high school student in Sweden. After several stints studying in Tokyo, she returned to Japan permanently to live and work in the seaside town of Kamakura. | Laura Pollacco Fujie went on to pursue her master's degree in ceramic arts back in Sweden, coming to Japan for another yearlong exchange in 2015. After completing her degree, she resettled in Japan permanently and now lives and works out of her studio in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Thanks to her seaside location, Fujie has taken up surfing, which has the double effect of inspiring her current work in ceramics as well as introducing her to a brand-new audience. 'The biggest surprise has been how that community has responded,' she says. 'They come and support my exhibitions in Kamakura — even people who never had an interest in ceramics.' For Fujie, all art is a form of communication and a chance for connection beyond nationality. 'When I think about all the weird cups I have made and sold, and how there are people, somewhere, drinking their morning coffee out of them and enjoying it, it's mind-boggling to me.' Fujie, Ferber and Cunningham all came to Japan to cultivate a specific skill and join a lineage that was not available in their home countries. But beyond their engagement with their respective crafts, they each found something deeper: community, collaboration and a place of their own in Japan's cultural landscape. Whether they realize it or not, they have joined the narrative of Japanese craftsmanship — and are also shaping its future. Learn more about the artists via their Instagram accounts @ @jessethedeshi and @sculptspace
Nikkei Asia
10-07-2025
- Nikkei Asia
Panda diplomacy softens sharp edge of China's foreign policy
A panda at the Adventure World amusement park in Japan. The facility's four pandas returned to China at the end of June. © Kyodo YUKIO TAJIMA BEIJING -- When all four of the pandas at Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Japan, were sent back to China, the local community was overwhelmed with a sense of "panda loss." It was late June when the pandas left the park in Wakayama prefecture, heading home to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's southwestern province of Sichuan. About a week before the pandas returned, the facility was bustling with tourists.
Kyodo News
29-06-2025
- Kyodo News
All 4 pandas at west Japan zoo depart for China, 2 remain in country
KYODO NEWS - 20 hours ago - 18:15 | Japan, All, World All four giant pandas on loan at a western Japan zoo departed the country for China on Saturday, leaving just two of the animals in Japan. Rauhin, a 24-year-old female, and her offspring -- Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4 -- were loaded onto a charter flight that took off from Kansai International Airport at around 3 p.m. They are headed to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province. The lease agreement for the four was set to expire in August. Japan's two remaining giant pandas, Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, are at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and are due to return to China by next February. Some 300 people including zoo staff and director Koji Imazu saw the pandas off in the morning at Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, as they left on two trucks. Zookeeper Yuka Nakaya said the four were "healthy this morning, and preparations proceeded smoothly." On Friday ahead of their departure, some 1,400 visitors had queued at the park before it opened for their final public display, with about 3,000 people attending a farewell ceremony. "It is sad that they leave Japan all at once. I wish for them to stay healthy in China," said Chisato Noda from Nagoya. "I want to visit China to see them. Maybe I'll plan a trip," said Yumi Yokoyama from Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo. The pandas were last on display in outdoor enclosures in May. Over the past month, the public had been able to see them in isolated rooms where they were quarantined ahead of their travel. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Friday that China and Japan have established "sound cooperation ties" through panda conservation and research. "We stand ready to continue enhancing exchanges and cooperation with Japan and other partners in the world to jointly contribute to the protection of the endangered species," he told a press conference in Beijing. The Wakayama Prefecture zoo began a joint breeding program with the Chinese panda research base in 1994. It has successfully raised 17 cubs, the most outside China. "The breeding project is finished for now, but we are willing to prepare to accept new pandas in future," zoo director Imazu said Friday. Related coverage: FOCUS: China's "panda diplomacy" in focus as zero moment may come in Japan All 4 giant pandas at western Japan zoo to return to China in June Giant panda Eimei dies in China after repatriation from Japan
