Keeping the Lanterns of Tradition Lit
Workpedia Japan focuses on the lives of foreign nationals working in Japan. On this episode, we "shed light" on the work of French-born Jeff Rudge, who makes traditional Japanese paper lanterns in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Forty-three-year-old Jeff Rudge has been working as a crafter of chochin - Japanese paper lanterns - since 2017.
Using a special tool, Jeff splits a three-meter-long dried bamboo trunk into eleven strips.
To make a framework of a lantern, Jeff mounts bamboo rings on a wooden frame and connects the rings with threads.
Jeff's father-in-law and mentor Iijima Minoru (left). Eighty-three-year-old Minoru has been making lanterns for almost 50 years.