Hokkaido Prefecture / Takeya Takayuki (Model maker) Fishing boats in the herring industry―which thrived here until the 1950s―featured swirling decorations that made a big impression on Takeya, a Hokkaido native.
Akita Prefecture / Koike Kazuko (Creative director) Nishimonai Bon Odori Festival has continued for over 700 years. Koike finds timeless beauty in the costumes, remade using beloved family kimono.
Yamagata Prefecture / Nakui Naoko (Book designer) Thread for traditional "shina" fabric takes a year to make. Ultrafine mohair is also made here, with a 60-year-old device. Nakui admires the hunt for improvement.
Yamagata Prefecture / Minagawa Akira (Designer) To make a "dantsu" carpet, everything from yarn-making to weaving is done by hand. Minagawa experiences the deep allure of handmade goods.
Niigata Prefecture / Nishizawa Ryue (Architect) In a coastal district, boat builders used their skills to make houses. Nishizawa considers how architecture is affected by a community's terrain and values.
Yamanashi Prefecture / Shibata Fumie (Product designer) "Kaiki" is a thin, brightly colored silk fabric. Shibata discovers how threads are arranged to produce a layered effect that resembles a digital image.
Aichi Prefecture / Kataoka Mami (Curator) Tokoname, a pottery town with over 900 years of history, creates products appropriate for the times. Kataoka finds the beauty that's present in functional objects.
Ehime Prefecture / Nagazumi Takashi (Musician) Nagazumi visits a town with a great number of trowel reliefs, and observes that the things that truly last are the ones that carry the creator's intention.
Shiga Prefecture / Nagayama Yuko (Architect) For 400 years, a group of stonemasons have been building walls using natural stone. Nagayama learns how a stone's qualities are assessed and utilized.
Okayama Prefecture / Hara Kenya (Graphic designer) Hara visits a Japanese propeller maker with a 30% global market share, to discover the merit of finding an object's perfect shape, without compromise.
Kagoshima Prefecture / Morinaga Kunihiko (Fashion designer) Priestesses on Amami Oshima wore patchwork robes with triangular butterfly designs, intended to protect the wearer from unseen spirits.
Ishikawa Prefecture / Tagawa Kinya (Design engineer) Tagawa investigates the process of design by looking at the work of Yanagi Sori, who shaped products by making models using different materials.
Tochigi Prefecture / Kikuchi Atsuki (Graphic designer) Kikuchi is drawn to enamelware that reflects the creators' own instincts. He talks about the appeal of designs made and used by the same person.
Kyoto Prefecture / Miyanaga Aiko (Contemporary artist) The Mincho font, drawn by hand in around 1990, evokes 350-year-old hand-carved woodblocks, made to print Buddhist sutras.
Nara Prefecture / Tsukamoto Yoshiharu (Architect) Long ago, people in Nara preserved ice by building an icehouse on a mountain ridge, showing how architecture can make use of natural characteristics.
Osaka Prefecture / Igarashi Hisae (Interior designer) Glass was a key industry in Osaka from the early 1900s. Igarashi learns how glassblowers used their skills to make Japanese vacuum flasks.
Tottori Prefecture / Hishikawa Seiichi (Video and craft artist) Dyeing firms make fishing flags with vivid, hand-drawn designs that carry the feelings of both fishermen and people sending them gifts.
Shimane Prefecture / Fukasawa Naoto (Product designer) Red "Sekishu" roof tiles are perfectly suited to cold, snowy regions. Fukasawa considers design that embodies the community it comes from.
Kochi Prefecture / Miyamae Yoshiyuki (Fashion designer) Kochi's Sunday market features around 500 stalls with fixed locations. Miyamae contemplates how communication has contributed to its longevity.
Miyazaki Prefecture / Sato Taku (Graphic designer) The crowded signs of local bars inspire Sato to reconsider the conventions of modern design, and embrace the appeal of the unknown.