16 Akusekijima Residents Return to Island; Others May Return Friday as Quakes Continue
The local government had said it would decide whether to allow the residents to return to the islands if no earthquakes measuring 4 or higher on the Japanese seismic intensity scale occurred for 5 days. However, as there were no signs the quakes would end, 16 people, from pre-school age to those in their 80s, from Akusekijima Island left Kagoshima Port by a village-run ferry late on Wednesday night and arrived on the island the following morning.
As of Wednesday, 52 people from Akusekijima Island and 15 people from Kodakarajima Island were evacuated. Some of the others who wish to return are expected to do so on Friday.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency there have been a total of 2,136 quakes measuring intensity 1 or higher in the area between June 21 and 10 a.m. Thursday.
'My fishing boat is still floating [in the harbor], so I want to get it back before the typhoon hits. I hope there won't be a big earthquake,' a fisherman in his 70s told The Yomiuri Shimbun on Wednesday before he boarded the ferry.
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Japan Times
4 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
13 hours ago
Chanoma: Meticulous Japanese Sweets in a Green Ikebukuro Oasis
Just a few minutes from the bustle of Ikebukuro Station's West Exit, and a single turn into one of the narrow streets spreading through Ikebukuro, I find myself stopping short. Nestled among the towering buildings is a verdant, tree-filled garden hiding a café in an old, traditional-style house. The single-story wooden structure, embraced in a quiet like something from another time, is around 80 years old, and greets every new customer with this feeling of charming discovery. The house itself was built by the owner Fukano Hiroyuki's grandfather after World War II, and his family has lived in this area since the Edo period (1603–1868). The wooden gate at the cafe entrance is a precious piece of architecture dating back to the mid- to late-nineteenth century, meaning it has survived both the Great Kantō Earthquake and the firebombing of World War II. A step through that gate takes me into the cafe area. The wooden gate's jutting roof is a clear landmark. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) The first sight inside is a doma —a feature of older houses, a large, dirt-floored workroom inside the main entrance—lined with tables and benches. Stepping up into the house, where Fukano once actually lived, gives access to washitsu rooms with tatami mats and a covered exterior walkway, or engawa . The doma is bright and airy. A tatami-floored washitsu can be seen to the right. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) Both spaces, the doma and washitsu , are now open to café customers, and feature large windows looking out onto the green garden outside. Stay in the doma to enjoy light filtering through the trees, or take off your shoes and step into washitsu for a taste of the cool shadows of a traditional Japanese house. Sun or shade—let your mood decide which suits you best that day. The floor seating in the Japanese room is perfect for stretching out and relaxing. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) The washitsu rooms take advantage of carefully preserved original fixtures, like fusuma sliding doors decorated with patterns of golden clouds and ume blossoms, and shōji screens with glass panels at the bottom for gazing out at the snow in winter. One room has a tokonoma alcove and a fireplace. Formerly the house tearoom, this space eschews gaudy decoration in favor of a more reserved, calming atmosphere. The tokonoma is decorated with hanging scrolls and ikebana . (© Kawaguchi Yōko) Focus on Ingredients At Chanoma, customers order their drinks and sweets at the counter. The cafe's most popular dish by far is the Nōkō Matcha Terrine. It uses tea from venerable Aoiseicha, a tea shop in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, packing it with the rich flavor of matcha. It is topped with whipped cream flavored with smoked hōjicha , a form of roasted tea, for a taste treat that balances depth with gentle enjoyment. The popular Nōkō Matcha Terrine and Hōjicha Latte. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) I particularly recommend pairing it with the Hōjicha Latte, which balances the natural sweetness of milk and roasted hōjicha tea. Shop manager Katō Hiroshi says, with a grin, 'We use hōjicha roasted from first-pick tea, so the leaves are packed with umami and sweetness. We want customers to enjoy the natural flavor of the ingredients.' The hot drink is great, of course, but in summer the iced version is also a real treat. Nishi Ike Valley—A New Community Under the High Rises Chanoma opened in December 2021. 'I want to build relationships with people whose faces I know. I want to open up this space to the community and make it somewhere people can mingle,' reflects Fukano. That is what drove his efforts in redeveloping the land he owned and encouraging shops, like Chanoma, to open here. He has grown this hidden residential neighborhood into a greenery-wrapped, welcoming commercial complex called Nishi Ike Valley. What makes this Ikebukuro spot a 'valley?' That name stems from the contrast between the towering high rises lining the main street in front of Ikebukuro Station and the many lower-stature structures in this area, like a green valley between the mountainous buildings. It also reflects his desire to see this a place where many branching 'tributaries' flow together to become one stream uniting diverse people and facilities to create something new. This cafe in a green urban valley between the buildings is truly an oasis of the metropolis. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) Chanoma's design was done by Sudō Tsuyoshi's design studio. The general concept was one of gently tying together the physical space, so they removed the wall that once stood round the garden. They also removed some of the paving on the grounds to replant shrubbery there. That helps blur the borders with the outside to create a more comfortable, half-indoor, half-outdoor environment. A place where visitors can feel free to find their own way of being in the space—that is the true charm of Nishi Ike Valley. The 2023 Nishi Ike Valley fair, held in the parking lot across from Chanoma, attracted over 200 children to enjoy festival games, street stall food, and shaved ice. Other events, like Nishi Ike Valley Day, include market stalls selling food made in the facility's shared kitchen and other offers of casual fun. On an earlier interview done a few years ago, Fukano shared a clear hope: 'I want to see people living in the buildings alongside us to come down and have fun on the street, and to hear the voices of children.' In May 2025, construction finished on a new residential building within the Nishi Ike Valley grounds. The first floor already has tenants like restaurants, a gym, and a work-share space. With this new public living space, connecting residents with those who come for fun, the day when that dream comes true seems close at hand. A Garden for All Seasons Chanoma was the first business to open here, becoming the nucleus for the Nishi Ike Valley project and an object of curiosity from many. Rather than being a perfectly polished commercial facility, it embodies the Nishi Ike Valley concept of 'A house in town to enjoy the spaces between.' In the garden, spring sees the blossoming of cherries, and the ume begin to ripen in early summer. Autumn is when the chestnuts and yuzu appear. When planting the garden, Fukano says, 'We focused on things that bear fruit, that lose their leaves in autumn, and that attract butterflies to lay their eggs.' There are gardeners to care for the trees, people to water the plants early in the morning, and those who come to sweep the leaves from the streets. This garden itself calls for many hands to tend it, and so has formed its own small community. 'It feels good to me to work in this environment. Watering the plants every day helps me see up close the vitality of these plants and feel the changing of the seasons,' says Katō. Once, some visitors from overseas staying at a hotel in Ikebukuro came to Chanoma three days in a row. They brought different friends every day, and apparently explained to each that visiting the cafe was their new morning ritual. The Japanese-style atmosphere seems to charm visitors from overseas. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) If you want a quiet time to visit, avoid the weekends and come on a weekday morning. The scenery around Chanoma offers new flowers and fruit with every season. It is a place that makes you want to come again and again, a place that nurtures moments of stillness. Chanoma Address: 5-12-3 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo Hours: 10:00 am–6:30 pm (last orders at 6:00 pm) Closed: Tuesdays Access: 6 minutes on foot from Kanamechō Station on the Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line; 8 minutes on foot from JR Ikebukuro Station Website: (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: The shop as seen from the entrance. © Kawaguchi Yōko.)
Yomiuri Shimbun
20 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Residents of Akusekijima Island in Southwestern Japan Still Concerned About Earthquakes After Strong Tremors Hit 1 Month Ago
AKUSEKIJIMA ISLAND, Kagoshima — Sunday marked one month since strong earthquakes that reached lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale hit Akusekijima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, and residents are still concerned that strong tremors may occur again. Several strong earthquakes with epicenters under the sea occurred near the Tokara Islands, which include Akusekijima Island. Akusekijima Island belongs to Toshima Village in the prefecture. Temblors have been occurring less frequently, and residents who evacuated the island have been returning home. However, the area along the island chain has also been rocked by numerous earthquakes in the past, and residents' fears about more quakes have not been eased. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, earthquakes measuring at least 1 on the Japanese intensity scale — which has a maximum level of 7 — had occurred 2,241 times as of 5 p.m. on Saturday. I departed from Kagoshima Port and traveled on a ship for about 10 hours and 30 minutes and arrived at Akusekijima Island at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The slope of a mountain seen from the port had partially collapsed. I did not see any collapsed structures in residential areas, and there were no remarkable traces of the many earthquakes that had occurred. However, Shigehisa Nishi, 58, who runs a minshuku inn where I lodged, and his wife Keiko, 56, said that almost no guests have stayed at the inn and the revenue from their business since July has fallen about 90% from a year ago. Passersby were not seen on the roads in the local community nor were there any tourists. The village government offered economic assistance of ¥50,000 in cash per household for 155 people in a total of 79 households on Akusekijima and Kodakarajima islands. 'Although the cash aid is helpful, I'm anxious because we don't know how long the earthquakes will continue and whether tourists who lodge at our inn will return,' said Keiko. In the wake of the strongest quake which registered a lower 6 that occurred on July 3, a total of 71 residents from Akusekijima and Kodakarajima islands evacuated from the islands. They had stayed in hotels and other places in Kagoshima City and many have returned to the islands by Aug. 2.'The tremors were so violent that I feared electricity poles might fall down,' said Kazunori Arikawa, 73, who runs a minshuku inn, when describing the strongest temblor. He evacuated to Kagoshima City but returned to the island several times to land his fishing boat because a typhoon was predicted to be approaching. A number of earthquakes also hit the area in 2021 and 2023. Therefore, residents must be prepared for an emergency. When I visited a branch office of the village government on Akusekijima Island where a shelter is located, Yuki Matsushita, 36, the chief of the branch office, showed me the emergency supplies. They included canned and packed foods that could last for three days for residents and mats to sleep on. 'Some people become nervous when thinking about the earthquakes,' she said. 'Although the tremors are weak now, there hasn't been a day when zero quakes hit.' She is staying vigilant about more earthquakes occurring. Some people noted problems regarding evacuation to outside of the Akusekijima and Kodakarajima islands, a total of nine households keep 182 cattle. For farmers who cannot leave the islands because they have to take care of livestock, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry decided to subsidize half the cost of evacuating animals from the islands and keeping them at evacuation sites. However, as of the end of July, no farmer on the islands had applied for the subsidy. 'If I move my cattle off this island, it will cause them stress, and the burden will be heavy,' said Kazuya Arikawa, 60, who keeps 55 cattle on Akusekijima Island. 'Transporting them is the last option.
