According to a recent global survey by Expedia 44% of travellers look for local goods they cannot find at home while on holiday With its rich tradition of unique crafts and speciality products – ranging from traditional Japanese washi paper and gold leaf items to expertly crafted knives – Japan is the perfect destination to find a one-of-a-kind souvenir the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has highlighted a series of unique experiences showcasing the best of traditional Japanese craftsmanship perfect for your next trip to the Land of the Rising Sun Ancient techniques in the Echizen-Takefu region Visit the traditional pottery villages of Saga Located in Kyushu’s northwest, Saga offers plenty of natural wonders, history and artistry. It is also famous as the birthplace of ceramics in Japan, especially in the historic pottery towns of Karatsu, Arita and Imari. Sitting just outside the town centre, the Arita Porcelain Park holds a large reconstruction of the Zwinger Palace of Dresden another city noted for its production of fine porcelain Those exploring the grounds can enjoy sake samples in the main park store and indulge in a traditional Arita-yaki Gozen meal Symbolic gold leaf in the city of Kanazawa For over 400 years, the city of Kanazawa has been producing gold leaf. It has grown in such notoriety that it now boasts upwards of 99% of domestic gold leaf production. Due to this, it has become a well-known symbol for Ishikawa through its delicate and awe-inspiring decorations on handicrafts and ornaments. For a unique behind-the-scenes experience, travellers can head to Gold Leaf Sakuda to browse the gold leaf crafts shop to take home a shiny piece of Japan Participants get to try their hand at shaping their own copper cups or accessories while listening to the history of copper Immerse in the vibrant colours of the Neputa Matsuri The village offers multiple traditional arts and crafts workshops which give visitors the opportunity to fully immerse in the culture of Hirosaki and gain insight into the intricate techniques of the Tsugaru style For more information on the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), please visit: japan.travel/en/uk/ I have read and agree to the terms & conditions Contact us: info@theartsshelf.com HOMEABOUT USMEET THE TEAMPRIVACY POLICYADVERTISING INFOCONTACT manufacture and sale of ceramic-based passive electronic components & solutions communication modules and power supply modules Murata is committed to the development of advanced electronic materials and leading edge The company has employees and manufacturing facilities throughout the world For more information, visit Murata's website Please find our latest information and activities on our social media sites Approach for chemical regulation for Murata Products.Find out more 44% of travellers seek local goods they cannot find at home while on holiday With this in mind, the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) is promoting several craft-focused destinations across the country including the Echizen-Takefu region in Fukui Prefecture accessible via the recently extended Hokuriku Shinkansen accounting for nearly 99% of domestic output over the past 400 years Travellers can visit Gold Leaf Sakuda in the Higashi Chaya District for manufacturing tours gilding workshops and to purchase gold leaf crafts providing deeper connections with local traditions and the chance to take home truly distinctive souvenirs Are you ready to explore the cutting-edge advancements shaping the electronics manufacturing industry The May 2025 issue of SMT007 Magazine is packed with insights and expert perspectives that you won’t want to miss Has X-ray’s time finally come in electronics manufacturing where we answer this question and others to bring more efficiency to your bottom line If you’re going to Anaheim for IPC APEX EXPO 2025 consider this issue of SMT007 Magazine to be your golden ticket to planning the show Estimated reading time: Less than a minute which combine traditional fire-making forging techniques with modern design have been highly acclaimed and are inundated with orders from famous chefs in Japan and abroad the entire production area had declined to such an extent that its current prosperity was unimaginable The man behind this dramatic revival is Katsuyasu Kamo of Kamo Cutlery Kamo Cutlery is located in the Takefu Knife Village equilateral triangular building is impressive and does not evoke the image of “cutlery Takefu Knife Village is a joint workshop of 13 cutlery companies that produce Echizen hammered blades and in addition to offering the rare experience of forging hammered blades it also has a workshop tour and a direct sales shop for kitchen knives and knives who made a major contribution to the establishment of Takefu Knife Village was certified as a traditional craftsman in 2008 and has served as the first chairman of the Takefu Knife Village Cooperative since the establishment of the facility Kamo’s history as a craftsman is also the history of traditional crafts from their decline to their revival to their current prosperity dropped out of a local high school to help his father and became a hammered knife craftsman in 1956 he mastered the “hi-zukuri forging two-ply spreading” technique in which two steel blades are layered and stretched thin The blade of the vegetable knife finished with this technique is thin The blade is so thin that it is extremely sharp which can be used not only for cutting vegetables but also meat and fish Sales of vegetable cutting knives had been declining with the changing times but the sharpness of the double-edged blade was still highly regarded was wondering if he could make a new kitchen knife using this technology A fellow skier who ran a vegetable farm in Nagano Prefecture introduced him to an agricultural cooperative in the prefecture suggesting that he could propose a vegetable knife to a place that would meet the demand for such knives we learned that growers cut several thousand plants of cabbage and other vegetables a day and that it is not unusual for them to get kenshoitis Realizing that there might be a demand for a knife that could be used differently from the conventional way but which would make harvesting vegetables easier Kamo worked with vegetable farmers to develop one they completed the “Vegetable Harvesting Knife The vegetable harvesting knife has a blade all the way to the tip so that the tip of the blade can cut the core of cabbage or Chinese cabbage by pressing lightly on it The blade is slightly warped to prevent damage to the leaves when harvesting Farmers who have used the machine have highly praised it saying that it has reduced the burden of harvesting and improved the quality of the vegetables they ship after hearing that farmers sometimes lose sight of their knives in the field while farming or injure themselves by stepping on them unexpectedly Kamo devised the red handle so that the knife would stand out the distinctive red handle came to be known as “Kamo-red,” and became synonymous with Kamo-san’s harvesting knives Convinced that he could create knives that were truly needed only by working directly with farmers Kamo went on to visit vegetable-growing regions such as Chiba In addition to knives specially designed for harvesting broccoli which at the time was being cultivated by an increasing number of farmers he also developed a left-handed harvesting knife and a lightweight model that is easy for women to use which he sold to agricultural cooperatives throughout the country He regularly visited the users of his knives and performed maintenance such as resharpening and repairing handles Word of Kamo’s approach to producers and the sharpness of his Echizen Uchihamono knives spread by word of mouth and his vegetable harvesting knives are now used in more than 30 locations throughout Japan Kamo’s vegetable harvesting knives are lined up by vegetable each with a different shape and blade length These are available in more than 50 varieties Kamo’s vegetable harvesting knives are also linked to the origin of Echizen Uchihamono a Kyoto swordsmith named “Chiyotsuru Kuniyasu” moved to Echizen in search of a suitable place to make swords which he called “Echizen sickles,” and this is believed to be the origin of the name Echizen became a major producer of agricultural cutlery and these products spread in the form of “peddling” throughout the country The peddlers were lacquer shovel craftsmen who traveled around the country in search of lacquer for Echizen lacquerware a traditional craft also known in Fukui Prefecture They sold their cutlery to farmers wherever they went and brought back orders for sickles from all over the country and Echizen sickles are said to have been the nation’s largest producer from the middle of the Edo period until the Meiji period during the period of high economic growth in the Showa era (1926-1989) the mechanization of agriculture and forestry advanced and the demand for sickles continued to decline sickle producers were forced out of business one after another which are more diverse in variety and shape than rice and are often harvested on slopes or in confined spaces the harvesting of vegetables such as Chinese cabbage and broccoli is still largely unmechanized and done mainly by hand Kamo found a way for Echizen Uchihamono to survive in knives specially designed for harvesting vegetables and like the lacquer shovel craftsmen of the past he personally went around the country visiting farmers to promote the harvesting knives which had become known to farmers nationwide through the sickle was once again recognized through vegetable harvesting knives Kamo revived a traditional craft that had been in decline for some time as vegetable harvesting knives but when he looked at the situation in the region as a whole and the region was facing severe price competition from inexpensive cutlery products Kamo and 10 other successors of cutlery companies in the region who felt a sense of crisis about the future of Echizen hammered cutlery got together and launched a study group to consider these issues The group began its activities with a focus on branding Echizen hammered blades to break away from price competition things started to move quickly when the Industrial Research Institute a world-renowned designer in the field of product and industrial design who hailed from Fukui Prefecture Kawasaki about the activities being promoted by the association and succeeded in gaining his approval Kawasaki proposed the development of new products from a designer’s point of view incorporating modern design concepts while preserving the basics of traditional Echizen hammered blades Kamo and his team were puzzled by the shape of the knife The most important reason was that they wondered if it was possible to reproduce the shape by handwork of craftsmen it could be done by press working,” said Kamo the value of Echizen Uchihamono lies in creating the form using the traditional fire forging technique.” While struggling with this question including an all-purpose all-stainless steel kitchen knife with an integrated blade and handle This was the beginning of an explosive hit the company finally completed a kitchen knife with a novel design that would be the future of Echizen Uchihamono He named the brand “Takefu Knife” and held an exhibition at a gallery in Tokyo the company vigorously held exhibitions throughout Japan including a very successful one in New York in 1986 This gave the members of the study group the confidence that “anything can be accomplished if we work together,” and gradually “the branding of kitchen knives got on track The next step was to create a place that would attract people from outside of Echizen to Echizen Uchihamono Kamo and his colleagues invested 30 million yen per person to complete the “Takefu Knife Village,” a joint workshop This created the advantages of a workshop that was widely accessible and craftspeople could share expensive processing machines the most significant impact was that discussions among everyone expanded their knowledge and led to the development of new products but we were able to make the decision because we absolutely needed a base to promote Echizen Uchihamono to the world I think the creation of the knife village led to the revival of the production area.” Echizen Uchihamono knives began to receive orders from all over the world as their sharpness and design quality were highly acclaimed by famous chefs overseas 70-80% of the knives produced by Takefu Knife Village are destined for overseas markets now has more than 40 craftsmen honing their skills the production area is sailing smoothly,” says Mr and the number of expensive knives is increasing we want to protect the Echizen Uchihamono brand by not cutting corners and by respecting the basics of proper craftsmanship,” says Mr and not only people from within the prefecture but also young people from outside the prefecture are training hard making the former environment of working under bare light bulbs seem a lie who have continued to take on the challenge of reviving a traditional craft will be passed on to the younger generation and a new page will be carved in the history of Echizen hammered blades Multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) manufacturer Murata Manufacturing Co’s decision to suspend some production lines at a key plant in Japan to fight a COVID-19 cluster infection there could lead to order transfers for high-end products but the short-term revenue benefits for Taiwanese firms would be limited Capital Investment Management Corp (群益投顧) said yesterday “We believe that the effect of order transfers remains to be seen as the first quarter is a low season for consumer passive components in the Greater China region and the demand is weak,” Capital Investment wrote in a note the demand for high-end products used in automotive and industrial control applications is still good and there is a possibility of order transfers,” it said on Saturday confirmed that several employees at Fukui Murata Manufacturing Co’s Takefu factory in Echizen city had tested positive for COVID-19 the Nikkei Shimbun and Kyodo News reported The firm has suspended some operations at the Takefu factory as more than 100 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed and about 1,200 of the factory’s 7,000 workers are quarantined During the last cluster infection at the Takefu factory in August last year Taipei-based TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report yesterday that only some categories of production capacity have been reduced or suspended at the Takefu factory The Takefu factory accounts for 20.7 percent of the company’s production capacity which mainly focuses on high-end consumer MLCCs “The current production reduction or suspension of some items will affect the supply of products such as servers and high-end smartphones,” it said in the report Fukui Takefu still retains 4 to 6 weeks of inventory and this incident should not tighten market supply in the short term.” there was speculation that Yageo Corp (國巨) Walsin Technology Corp (華新科技) and other Taiwanese passive component suppliers might benefit from order transfers as it is not known when the Takefu factory will resume full operations based on past MLCC factory lockdowns in Southeast Asia amid the COVID-19 pandemic “While Yageo’s high-end product line is expected to benefit from any potential order transfers the revenue effect would be limited in the short term as the company’s current delivery time of high-end products for automotive and industrial control products is above six months,” Capital Investment said Yageo reported consolidated revenue of NT$106.54 billion (US$3.86 billion) for last year up 57.49 percent from NT$67.65 billion in 2020 while Walsin’s revenue totaled NT$42.09 billion last year an increase of 18.41 percent from NT$35.54 billion a year earlier Yageo shares yesterday rose as much as 3.19 percent in Taipei trading before paring gains to close 0.2 percent higher at NT$502 Walsin shares closed 0.32 percent higher at NT$157.5 AD Leave a rating/comment#Painting#For FamiliesBack to ArticlesSHARE Fukui — A new station located in the middle of rice paddies has opened on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line which was recently extended from Kanazawa Station to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent By Hiromi Hoshi / Special to Ryoko Yomiuri Publication Among the six stations in the newly extended section Echizen-Takefu is accessible by only Shinkansen bullet train The station building was designed using specialties such as paper Echizen is one of the top producers of washi and paper made there is called Echizen washi The walls of the waiting room in the station’s concourse are papered with Echizen washi I visited Echizen Washi Village to see the craftsmanship that goes into papermaking there Echizen Washi Village is an area dotted with several washi-related facilities such as the Paper & Culture Museum where visitors can learn about the history of washi where people can try their hand at producing washi visitors can observe the process of making washi using traditional methods The materials used to make Japanese paper mainly come from three plants: kozo (a type of mulberry tree) mitsumata (Oriental paper bush) and gampi (Diplomorpha sikokiana) “Each of them has its own characteristics,” said Naho Murata an artisan who was demonstrating the process of making paper kozo’s thick and long fibers create strong paper.” The raw materials extracted from these plants are mixed in a vat with water and glue that is created using a plant similar to hibiscus Murata scooped some onto a screen and shook the screen to spread the fibers evenly The amount of time spent on shaking is said to be judged solely on the appearance of the paper being made This work is dependent on a craftsperson’s expertise that comes about only through experience The Udatsu Paper & Craft Museum is a unique facility in Japan where visitors can observe the entire process of papermaking from the preparation of the raw materials to making paper and drying it The city of Echizen is drawing special attention this year because Murasaki Shikibu is being featured as the main character in public broadcaster NHK’s iconic historical drama Murasaki Shikibu is the author of “The Tale of Genji,” which is considered to be the world’s oldest full-length novel It is said that she spent about a year while in her 20s there following the appointment of her father or the lord of present-day Fukui Prefecture excluding its southern part There is a statue of her in Murasaki Shikibu Park in the city as well as a reproduction of a garden from the time The adjacent Murasaki Shikibu Museum of Echizen details the relationship between the writer and the city via panels and videos It also has an impressive display of dolls depicting Murasaki Shikibu and others traveling from Kyoto to Echizen The procession of 46 people is reproduced with dolls made of Echizen washi I visited the city before the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line was extended Closed on Tuesdays and the year-end and New Year holiday period which includes access to the Paper & Culture Museum located in Echizen Washi Village Closed on Mondays — or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday — and the year-end and New Year holiday period Entry to Murasaki Shikibu Park is unrestricted Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun Sign In Subscribe Now The City of Yellowknife has officially dissolved its sister city relationships after a lack of interaction and the development of technology has left the program deemed as unnecessary The municipality entered into sister city relationships decades ago with communities in and outside of Canada to “exchange information Those relationships have have remained inactive for several years Takefu stopped existing following a merger with the town of Imadate on Oct the relationships have not been actively fostered “for several years,” as technology has helped to simplify the exchange information and conduct business both within Canada and around the world Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines Fukui (Jiji Press)—An extended section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line will open on Saturday The opening of the new section is expected to contribute to reconstruction efforts in the Hokuriku region in central Japan following the Noto Peninsula earthquake on Jan along with a subsidy program for travel to the region that will also be launched on Saturday Hokuriku Shinkansen trains will travel from Tokyo to Tsuruga in 3 hours and 8 minutes at the fastest and from Tokyo to Fukui in 2 hours and 51 minutes The fares for Tokyo-Tsuruga and Tokyo-Fukui will be ¥16,360 and ¥15,810 The opening of the new section has been “our ardent wish,” Fukui Governor Tatsuji Sugimoto said “We will use this opportunity to bring Fukui Prefecture to a new stage.” The 125-kilometer section will serve two stations in Ishikawa will make a total of nine round trips per day which stop at almost all stations from Nagano The construction of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line was decided in 1973 The Takasaki-Nagano section was opened in October 1997 and the line was extended to Kanazawa in March 2015 Construction of the Kanazawa-Tsuruga section began in 2005 The section was originally scheduled to open in spring 2023 but was postponed due to construction delays A total of ¥1.68 trillion was spent on the new section The Hokuriku Shinkansen line will eventually be extended to Osaka it remains uncertain when construction will begin on the remaining part due to delays in an environmental assessment in Kyoto Prefecture