Sagae is a small city in Yamagata Prefecture with a population of about 40,000. Located here is a company that manufactures world-class textile products. The company is Sato Seni, which produces woolens from a one and only thread that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. In 2009, at US President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony, the First Lady Michelle Obama wore a cardigan. The cardigan was made from the fine mohair fiber developed by Sato Seni. With the surge of low-priced products from abroad, Japan’s textile industry is facing difficult economic times. But Sato, president of Sato Seni, is determined to survive by continuing production of unique products made with the exclusive thread. The program documents Sato Seni and the company’s efforts to pursue world-class quality.
The small town of Omori in Ohda City, Shimane Prefecture, is home to World Heritage site Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and roughly 400 residents. It is in this town that one of Japan’s top prosthetic/orthotic manufacturers, Nakamura Brace, is located. The company has researched and developed over 200 types of original medical products, from prostheses such as artificial arms and legs, to orthoses such as corsets and protective headwear. It gained recognition after being the first company in the world to create medical products out of silicone. Last spring, Nakamura Brace began developing prosthetics to support athletes training for the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil. The program takes a close look at the engineers as they tackle this new challenge.
“Kanikama” are imitation crab sticks made of ground fish meat. They were first manufactured in Japan around 40 years ago but are now consumed all over the world, and the consumption rate abroad is 10 times that of Japan. It was Yanagiya, a food machinery company in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, that made this global expansion of kanikama possible. Yanagiya exported the kanikama manufacturing machine to 19 countries and currently holds roughly 70% of the world’s share. The program documents the drive behind Yanagiya’s growth and ambition to continue developing new machinery and new products.
In the Reihoku area of Kochi Prefecture, a shochu distillery with only 4 employees, self-professed to be the smallest in Japan, has taken on the challenge to make a local brand of Awamori, a type of distilled spirit known to be produced in Okinawa. The distillery uses an award-winning brand of rice produced in Kochi. The masterminds behind its production is a group of people who have migrated to Reihoku from other parts of Japan. Their aim is to reinvent Reihoku area’s charm and appeal, and build up ties in the region. The program documents the distillery’s sales manager who moved to Reihoku from Kyoto, and the big challenges of the tiny distillery.
Echizen hammer forged knives made in Fukui prefecture is known for its durability and cutting quality. It is designated as a traditional craft product of Japan. At the Takefu Knife Village, knives are manufactured and sold, and is also a place where a number of cutlery makers share the workshop and facilities with each other. It serves as a training arena for young blacksmiths as well. Learning together beyond the bounds of each company, the new generation blacksmiths incorporate fresh sensibilities into traditional forging techniques. The program follows their venture into crafting knives with innovative design and functionality.
“Kagura” refers to a Shinto theatrical dance rituals traditionally performed to give thanks to the gods and pray for a good harvest. The town of Kitahiroshima-cho, with a population of around 20,000, has over 60 Kagura performing groups. In pursuit of an enticing and memorable performance, the groups’ Kagura has evolved into a sophisticated and one of a kind theatrical art. The Kagura industry’s development contributes in keeping its residents from moving out of town and also attracting new migrants, tackling the issues of depopulation in Kitahiroshima-cho. The program follows the people behind “Super Kagura,” and their efforts in bringing vitality to the town.
Mizuhiki, or cords made of Japanese washi paper, were traditionally used only on special occasions, most often as ribbons for celebratory gift envelopes. Jiyukajin, a studio in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, that makes various pieces of art with these cords, has been revolutionizing the traditional industry. Wanting more people to see and appreciate the potential of Mizuhiki, Yuriko Hirose, president of Jiyukajin, began using them to create accessories and interior decorations for daily use, and showing their beauty in a new light. What makes Jiyukajin works so unique is the wide variety of colors. With the cooperation of a textile manufacturer, Jiyukajin developed Mizuhiki cords of 133 colors. The employees are all women. Their attention to detail can be seen in their works which are carefully made by hand, and which are meticulous from every angle. In this episode, we focus on a woman whose freewheeling thinking opened the doors to a whole new world for the traditional Mizuhiki.
In Ishinomaki, a city that was devastated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, a group of locals in their twenties and thirties are working hard to revitalize the town. How? By producing wedding receptions in the city center and by staging events such as the first traditional bridal procession in Ishinomaki in a hundred years. This is a story of passionate young people striving to bring light and joy back to their hometown.
For over 400 years, Japan has used a special technique for moving whole buildings without dismantling them. Known as “hikiya,” the method is often used in lot readjustment and road widening projects, but has more recently attracted attention as a way of preserving precious heritage structures. In 2015, the method was used to move an important cultural property, Hirosaki Castle tower in northern Japan. Hikiya professionals, Wagatsuma-gumi from neighboring Yamagata, took on the job. At the helm was Kentaro Ishikawa. Now, three years later, Ishikawa is handed another big challenge. The building this time is the original Nagai Elementary School, another heritage structure in Yamagata. Built of timber some 85 years ago, it is filled with memories for past students and has become a town symbol. Ishikawa’s skill and experience are put to the test as he tries to preserve this treasure house of learning and memories.
Imadate in Echizen, western Japan, is the largest producer of Echizen Washi paper in the country. The art of washi-making is said to be 1,500 years old, having been handed down from the ancestral deity, goddess Kawakami Gozen. In Imadate today, two artisans are turning heads. One, Naho Murata, has been making washi by hand for 20 years after taking up the craft to try making clothing with it. The other is the fourth in a line of handcrafted washi makers, Makiko Iwano. She has inherited the traditional “uchigumo” marbled cloud design from her late father, who had devoted his life to it. Handcrafting washi takes a deft, but sure hand, and the determination of these two artisans comes into its own. We explore the future of Echizen Washi through the lens of two women driving it forward.
In Higashikawa, a town in Hokkaido, each baby born has been receiving a handmade wooden chair, called “Kimi No Isu” – or “your chair.” The design and materials of the chairs may change year by year, but the idea behind this project remains the same. Each chair is a way for the whole town to express gratitude for the birth of a child, and to celebrate their arrival into the world. For the children, the chairs are their own special possession and own special place. 104 of the chairs were also sent to children born on March 11, 2011 in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on that day. These chairs also symbolize a desire to recover a lost sense of community. We take a close look at 12 heartwarming years of the Kimi No Isu Project.
Hita City in northern Kyushu is known for its timber industry and also its geta sandals. Masayuki Motono is a young artisan pouring his energy into coming up with innovative ideas to preserve the wooden sandal tradition. At the age of 25, he took over as the third generation in his family’s geta business, and has come to be known as the “Geta Prince.” Motono’s geta are made from local Japanese cedar, but their design often takes a sharp departure from tradition. He aims for styles that will suit modern fashion, and some of them already have a year-long waiting list. Motono is reinvigorating Hita geta with the flexible mind of youth. We track a young artisan’s wide-ranging efforts to produce and promote “Hita geta that are loved by all” and his thoughts behind them.
The Tosa geiko are the highlight of banquets in Kochi Prefecture. However, after the collapse of the bubble economy, the traditional “ryotei” Japanese restaurants where these banquets are held, closed one after another, and the culture of geiko and the Tosa banquet games became obsolete. One restaurant reversed this trend when it reopened in 2007, 6 years after its forced closure. Wishing to keep the banquet culture alive, Misako Hamaguchi bought back her grandfather’s restaurant which was once one of the biggest “ryotei” restaurants with more than 20 geiko entertainers, and nurtured a new generation of geiko from zero. Her grandfather is also one of the founders of Kochi’s famous summer festival, the Yosakoi Festival, in which dancers from all over Japan come to participate. Misako’s biggest hope is to pass on these unique Kochi cultures to future generations for 1000 years to come. Misako hopes that her daughter, Sakura, will represent the younger generation and succeed her in near future. We follow the story of a mother and daughter who, each in her own way, faces her duty of protecting and carrying on Tosa’s traditional culture.
