Fukui Prefecture lies on the coast of the Sea of Japan, in the central area of Japan's main island. A wide array of projects are building communities, and promoting regional craftsmanship. We visit the foot of Zen mountain temple Eihei-ji Temple, and coastal scenic spot Wakasa to explore the unique creative work in both locations. Presenters Andy and Shaula are on the scene to learn how Fukui designs are bringing tradition into the future.
Today, we're on a Design Hunt, exploring some unique, regional designs in Japan's Fukui Prefecture.
Winter is harsh along the Sea of Japan.
This climate has given rise to some unique traditional crafts.
We'll be looking in on some new projects across Fukui that showcase the region's many charms.
Over two episodes, we'll explore innovative designs that bring regional culture into the future!
First, I'll be heading to northern Fukui to the town of Eiheiji.
This Zen Buddhist temple has over 700 years of history and tradition.
Over a hundred trainee monks live among the quiet halls of the temple headquarters.
This charming local train is taking me to a fascinating new facility near the temple.
Ahh..
Wow, the air is so fresh here.
So much nature.
Really stylish building!
This mighty stream is the Kuzuryu, Fukui's largest river.
There's a building on its banks that opened in 2022, dedicated to Fukui culture.
It's run by a nearly 220-year-old sake brewery,
and I'm sure it'll prove a popular spot to enjoy Fukui food and nature.
Hello.
- Hello and welcome.
- I'm Shaula.
- I'm Mizuno Mayu.
- It's a pleasure.
What an amazing place.
It's not well-known, even in Fukui.
But it's right on the river.
The landscape is framed like
a painting by the building.
It really is.
Looking over the Kuzuryu river
is a key feature.
Wow, it really opens up!
Yes, the picture gets wider
as you walk further in.
That's incredible!
The green deepens further
in June and July.
- It changes with the seasons.
- It's amazing!
It's amazing!
The facility is run by a brewery?
The sake brewery is about 15 minutes away.
It draws from the river.
We have a very close relationship
with the Kuzuryu river.
My father, our CEO, began
planning the project 10 years ago.
He loves visiting wineries
in Napa Valley and elsewhere.
The idea was to entice sake lovers
and showcase Fukui culture.
I see. I'm a big fan of sake myself.
- Really? Thank you!
- So I'm delighted by this place!
What's this?
A sake shop.
Such a beautiful atmosphere.
- The scent of Japanese sake.
- It's so fragrant.
Oh, what's this?
A lovely chest of drawers.
Fukui is famous for
Echizen chests like this.
We commissioned an artisan who
makes them for modern settings.
It's actually a display.
These are all by Fukui artists?
Yes, young Fukui creators.
People often focus on Echizen-yaki.
Fukui's most famous ceramic.
Yes, these people go beyond that
to explore new artistic territory.
They're really unusual.
The interior design also highlights Fukui culture.
The wallpaper is Echizen washi paper, a traditional Fukui craft.
The floor and counters use shakudani stone,
a rare Fukui resource that is no longer mined.
Lots of delicious sake here.
Thank you.
Half are our standard products.
The others have different designs.
Some of the bottles have unusual colors.
The top of this label has been made
to look like the local mountains.
Oh, I see!
Apparently, they've been trying new maturation techniques to create a sparkling sake.
It seems like this place focuses
on experimental techniques.
Yes, we sell unusual items and evolve
products based on customer feedback.
The restaurant serves sweets that use the lees left over from the sake brewing process.
The dishes feature local produce, and make use of misshapen vegetables to reduce waste,
a way of showing thanks to nature - a very Zen philosophy.
It's a great place to enjoy a relaxing meal surrounded by nature.
This is where the sparkling sake is stored.
Our sake rests here. We call it
the hall of sleeping dragons!
That's cool!
Oh wow, look at this place!
- I feel like I have to whisper.
- I know what you mean!
It echoes, and there are
no pillars so it feels vast.
- Like a church, right?
- Exactly! I feel awed.
Doesn't feel like a cellar!
- A cellar?! Really?
- It is!
It's so beautiful that
we've merged its use.
Half is free space for tastings and events.
It's a very versatile space.
The building was designed by UK architect Simon Conder, who specializes in wood.
The ceilings reach 11 meters high, and no metal is used anywhere in the structure.
These two striking counters are made from enormous Fukui cedar trees.
This is incredible up close!
The roots are at this end.
How gorgeous!
I'm blown away.
2023 is our 220th anniversary.
This tree is about the same age.
- Your father chose it?
- He's a romantic!
That's great.
Is this it?
Yes, we can store 8,000 bottles
of sparkling sake here.
This one isn't complete.
A second fermentation in the bottle
creates natural bubbles.
It has to rest here
for at least 15 months.
- You don't add the bubbles?
- No, we don't.
Unlike regular sake we leave
sediment inside, like wine. See?
So this ferments in the bottle.
The same technique as champagne.
I see!
It takes time and effort but it also
means the sake does some of the work.
- You just watch over it.
- Exactly.
I never get tired of talking about sake!
Our next stop is the city of Obama,
which lies along the dynamic coastline of southwest Fukui.
People here have long lived off the sea, but the city is also known for making hashi.
The city of "hashi," so-called chopsticks.
Now here... yeah, it must be this one.
Here we go.
- Matsumoto-san?
- Yes, hello!
- A pleasure, I'm Andy.
- I'm Matsumoto.
Obama is famous for its "hashi."
About 70-80% of Japan's
chopsticks are made here.
- Japan's top producer?
- That's right.
In 2021, this century-old hashi wholesaler made use of a local cultural asset
and opened a new venue to promote Obama's "hashi" culture.
- Look at all these!
- These are just our chopsticks.
What lovely colors.
- These are quite modern.
- Yes.
These are coated using
traditional Wakasa-nuri techniques.
I love the gleam on these ones.
That comes from abalone shell.
Beautiful. They're works of art!
Wakasa-nuri holds an important place
in Obama's history.
It was used on items presented
to the shogun family.
Wakasa-nuri started four centuries ago as part of a culture of luxury furnishings.
These intricate patterns are said to have been inspired by the region's natural landscape.
Pine needles and other natural items are used as molds to add urushi resin or gold-leaf.
By the 18th century, techniques were so refined that these studios were producing works of art.
The 1868 Meiji Restoration killed
this culture of home furnishings.
I see.
So artisans turned to everyday
items, such as chopsticks.
Wakasa-nuri was inspired by
the seabed, by sunlight on the sea.
- How beautiful. What craftsmanship!
- Indeed.
- All done by hand.
- That's right.
The sea's right there.
It's a port, with lots of fishermen.
On days they couldn't fish
they would paint chopsticks at home.
- Hello, good morning.
- Morning.
- Hard at work.
- Indeed.
What are you doing?
Coating the chopsticks.
- In urushi resin?
- That's right.
There are just four recognized masters of traditional Wakasa-nuri techniques.
Furui Masahiro is the eldest.
He's also the only artisan who specializes in "hashi."
He's dedicated himself to hashi for sixty years,
bringing the traditional technique into the modern era.
You're so fast!
The sound is so comforting.
- It's the even pitch.
- Soothing.
What's the key characteristic?
Of Wakasa-nuri chopsticks?
There are a few ways to make the initial
pattern. Pine needles, abalone shell.
Also eggshells.
I coat them with urushi and
sprinkle the crushed shells.
After a few days of drying
I add colored resin.
He layers several coats of red, black, green, or yellow-colored resin.
Then he adds gold or silver leaf, for a total of 20 to 30 coats.
The most important process in Wakasa-nuri hashi design is the polishing.
Today, this is done with machines, but Furui shows me the old-fashioned way!
It takes a man working flat out
20 minutes to do one pair.
- It's really hard.
- With all the shell, and the eggshell.
Hard as anything!
It's coming up.
I have to keep the pressure even.
Machines dig in.
The way the sandpaper turns.
It creates dips.
And we have to fix them.
All those dips.
There's the pattern.
Doing it by hand makes it
all smooth and even.
May I?
Look at that!
A perfect shell design on gleaming "hashi."
Furui uses traditional techniques, but has refined his designs to simple, modern lines.
This lowers the cost and allows more people to enjoy the beauty of Wakasa-nuri hashi.
Another "hashi" design highlights the beauty of Obama's waters.
It was the idea of a local high school student,
who suggested reusing marine plastic waste.
Meet the marine science class of Wakasa High School.
They reached out to Matsumoto's firm to collaborate on the idea,
following a class on environmental issues.
The local geography and tides wash a lot of trash onto this local beach.
I'm going to meet some of the students cleaning it up.
The project was created by recent graduate Nakai Rinta,
and is now led by current student Fujihara Sora.
A plastic case?
Join in, Nakai!
Show me what to do!
There really is a lot of trash.
How do you know what's useable?
Soft plastic doesn't grind up right.
We need a nice snappy texture.
Hard, like this.
The students pulverize the plastic they collect to make the materials they need.
- Any good?
- I think so.
- That's good.
- It's useable?
Once washed, yeah.
How often do you come out
here to pick up trash?
We give the ground plastic
to the manufacturer.
The tiny chips?
Yes, we come here when they run out.
It's great that this can be reused.
What do you think?
I still can't believe the trash
we collect is made into chopsticks.
Our research will all be worth it if we can
teach customers more about the issue.
They mixed the ground plastic chips with shell,
employing traditional techniques to apply the result...
...and worked with local artisans to finalize their product.
It's a design that highlights the historic beauty of Obama's coastline.
But it's also a stark reminder of how the marine environment has changed.
The four seasons of Wakasa's waters, expressed in these colorful "hashi."
A cross-generational design that looks to the region's future.
Mackerel and other marine products were once carried over the mountains to the city of Kyoto,
on a road called the Mackerel Highway.
Along that road was a waystation called Kumagawa-juku.
Today, it's a conservation zone for historical buildings, preserving a centuries-old vista.
Look at the city. It's beautiful.
It's extremely traditional, retro.
Now, I'm gonna go visit a very interesting gentleman
who has been working on a project to revive this town.
- Tokioka-san?
- Yes, hello.
- Hi, I'm Andy.
- Tokioka. Welcome!
I admired the town as I walked here.
Glad you like it!
So much history.
It's a beautiful spot but
there are lots of empty buildings.
We buy or rent them and renovate
them, like this office.
- Very cool.
- Or turn them into a hotel.
There's a hotel?
That's what our firm does.
That's wonderful.
In 2018, they renovated a 140-year-old vacant house.
It became a community hub with shared office space and a cafe.
Tokioka previously worked in urban development in Tokyo,
but he was drawn to working with local cultural treasures
and brought his firm home five years ago.
Why did you choose Kumagawa?
It's a mountain village.
A lot of food comes from the mountains.
I loved the idea of combining that
culture with historic treasures.
- What's back there?
- Over here?
- May we?
- Of course.
Oh, it opens up like this!
It's a huge home with an open ceiling.
We have a shared office here.
It just keeps going!
Yes. This is for guests.
- An amazing stove!
- Take a look.
It's a food experience space
for visitors.
We get a lot of visitors
from the city and abroad.
Dashi soup, rice, other ingredients.
You can have lunch here at this stove.
Oh wow!
- Like a workshop.
- How extravagant!
So food plays a big role here?
Yes, I want folks to enjoy
local ingredients and dishes.
We use mountain ingredients
to make other food too.
Amazing.
Please, take a look around.
What a lovely road.
All kinds of stores.
- The mackerel sushi is famous.
- Sounds good!
- On the Mackerel Highway.
- I'll buy some for the road!
A traditional Japanese food called kudzu is prepared here.
Traditional techniques are used to purify kudzu roots,
and 'Kumagawa kudzu' is a local specialty.
It's turned to powder, dissolved, and chilled until it gels into a traditional Japanese sweet.
Kudzu roots are harvested from the
mountains, and their nutrients extracted.
Once they reach that white color,
they're laid out for drying.
Sorry to bother you at work.
I'm here with a TV crew.
- Hello!
- This is Andy.
- A pleasure to meet you.
- Likewise.
- How are you?
- Please come in.
- It's all done manually?
- Yes, every step is done by hand.
No machines at all.
The roots are huge.
The association digs them up.
They're 20-30 years old.
It can take more than a day
to dig out a good one.
- We dig as deep as a person.
- It's hard work.
- That's so tough!
- It is.
We've dug up 3 tons this year.
- 3 tons?
- Yes.
- All by hand.
- In the mountains!
Incredible.
And once it's processed
it's down to 110-120kg.
- 3 tons to 120kg?
- About 4-5% of the original weight.
- So it's precious.
- A precious resource.
These rare flavors are the result of year-round work.
Tokioka also makes his own selection of products from kudzu
that highlight the characteristics of this unique, regional delicacy.
Like this rice porridge topping.
He also runs a hotel, utilizing a formerly vacant home.
The rooms of this hotel are spread along the town's main street.
He's giving me a tour of the hotel's facilities.
- In here?
- Yes, after you.
Oh wow. Excuse me.
Oh, it's gorgeous!
This is the Lark Room.
It has a little garden.
Tsuji, the carpenter who worked
on the hotel is here today.
- How do you do?
- A pleasure.
Wow, it's big!
The high ceilings open up the space.
And earthen walls, too.
Very calming.
Yes, we reused the earthen walls
from the original building.
It's a humid area which causes damage.
Tsuji built a new foundation,
set up new pillars, everything.
Sounds like hard work!
Honestly, yes!
You do challenging work.
Yes, but it really does make
the work more interesting.
Few modern homes require
this kind of work.
It was a great experience
and I really enjoyed it.
I've had a wonderful time.
I'm so glad!
Thank you.
I dragged you all over!
You've covered accommodation
and food as well.
And they appeal to modern visitors.
We're adding accommodation and trail
routes further up the mountain.
I hope we can combine culture
and mountain pastimes.
Sounds amazing.
Beautiful nature, and incredible designs that really highlight
just how much love young locals have for their home region.