Makers of Japanese Traditional Crafts Seek New Opportunities Overseas; Focus on Artistic Value of Works

Yomiuri Shimbun

18 hours ago

Support for the export and overseas expansion of Japanese traditional crafts is included in a basic cocept for regional revitalization approved by the government last month.
The move is aimed at helping revitalize the industry, whose domestic market has shrunk to one-fifth of its peak due to changing lifestyles and increasing imports of inexpensive products.
To boost sales, it is necessary to find overseas demand and develop market strategies.
The basic cencept outlines the government's measures to be implemented over the next 10 years.
One of the specific measures is to enhance the value of regional resources such as foods, local industries, cultural practices and arts, with an emphasis on further supporting efforts to promote traditional crafts overseas.
The Japanese crafts industry has been in a prolonged slump. The production value of traditional crafts peaked at about ¥500 billion in 1990 and then started to decline. It has remained at around ¥100 billion since the 2010s. In addition, the industry's workforce has fallen below 50,000, from nearly 300,000.
The primary cause is the slump in domestic demand. To survive the situation, some production areas and local governments have begun actively promoting their products overseas to expand sales channels.
Japanese swords
Setouchi, Okayama Prefecture, in July of 2023 exhibited Japanese swords produced in the city's Osafune area at the Japan Expo, a festival of Japanese culture held in Paris. The area is traditionally known for producing high-quality Japanese swords.
The venue was bustling with young people who became familiar with Japanese swords through anime, but this did not contribute to sales.
The city's culture and tourism section admitted that exhibiting the products was not suited to the visitors, stating, 'Swords are priced at several million yen each, so only wealthy people can afford them.' The city realized it lacked a fundamental market strategy: narrowing down the target customer base.
Learning from this lesson, when holding an exhibition of Japanese swords at the Maison de la Culture du Japon a Paris (Japanese culture house of Paris) from December to January, the municipal government invited buyers and promoters with a track record in the European sword market.
This approach proved successful. The city was invited to participate in the Japan Art Fair, which mainly exhibits Japanese swords and armor in the Netherlands. City officials visited the fair last month and are preparing to participate in next year's event.
Bizen ware
The city of Bizen, known for producing Bizen ware, in Okayama Prefecture is a prime example of actively pursuing overseas expansion.
In the spring last year, Bizen ware was exhibited at Milan Design Week, one of the world's largest design fairs held in Milan.
A gallery owner from Belgium, whom city officials met at that time, later visited Bizen at the invitation of the city. The owner met with Bizen ware artists and purchased several highly artistic pieces, including one costing several million yen.
'Until now, when producers of a production area of Japanese crafts exhibited their products overseas, they simply displayed everything equally, without a marketing mindset about what to sell and to whom,' said Etsuro Ninomiya, a former counselor at the Japanese mission to the European Union
Ninomiya had advised both cities to make inroads into Europe and introduced city officials to people in the art business there.
Untapped potential
Ninomiya stresses that the key target is the global art market. Japan's market share of it is only 1%.
'The artistic value of Japanese crafts is still unknown in Europe. This is both a weakness and an opportunity,' Ninomiya said. 'Unlike in the past, this is an era in which quality is valued more than quantity. There is ample potential to sell high-value traditional crafts to wealthy people.'
Wajima lacquerware being promoted with public-private efforts
Wajima lacquerware produced in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, is making inroads into overseas markets. The lacquerware production area suffered severe damage from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that occurred in January last year.
The city launched in spring an office of global promotion for Wajima lacquerware, and city officials attended Milan Design Week.
In addition, an A Ishilawa Prefectural committee is discussing overseas marketing strategies aimed at Wajima lacquerware's creative reconstruction. The committee was established to promote a project jointly with the Yomiuri Shimbun and other public and private entities to establish a facility to train young talent in the production of lacquerware.
This spring, Ishikawa Prefecture, along with neighboring Toyama and Fukui prefectures in the Hokuriku region, established a council to promote exports from the area. The council is considering inviting craft buyers from France for business negotiations.Highly praised in NY
A company has also had success on its own.
Okagaki Shikki-ten, a company that operates the Senshudo brand of Wajima lacquerware, held an exhibition and sales event at the Onishi Gallery in New York last October. About 300 people attended the reception on the opening day. The event was highly praised, with people making comments such as, 'These products successfully convey the delicate sensibility of the Japanese people,' and 'I want to pass this art down in my family.'
In addition to its own products, the company exhibited works by living national treasures and others belonging to the Japan Kogei Association, an organization comprised of Japanese traditional craft artists. The company achieved sales of tens of millions of yen in about a month. This success led to an exhibition at a high-end department store in New York.
The lacquerware company and the gallery signed an agency contract last year. Currently, they are working on a project to create new works in collaboration with a local designer.
'We exhibited our products at a trade show in New York in February last year that featured a wide range of items, including miscellaneous goods,' said Yugo Okagaki, the president of Okagaki Shikki-ten. 'There, I realized that Wajima lacquerware was well received by people related to art museums, so we changed our strategy to focus more on the art market. We want to further enhance the value of Japanese lacquerware overseas.'