Welcome to Design x Stories.

Right now, I'm in Ishikawa Prefecture, and as most of you know,

this area was hit by a massive magnitude 7.6 earthquake on New Year's Day 2024.

Many lost their lives and tens of thousands of livelihood were destroyed.

The damage to the northern half of Noto Peninsula is extensive.

This area is also home to one of Japan's oldest traditional crafts: the Wajima-nuri.

Not only have Wajima-nuri works, tools, and studios have been lost,

but many artisans are choosing to leave the profession because they see no future for themselves.

Yet a new project has begun looking for solutions through design.

One of Japan's best-known traditional crafts is Wajima-nuri,

lacquerware made in the town of Wajima on the Noto Peninsula.

When mixed with urushi lacquer, the local clay strengthens it and makes it more heat resistant.

Lacquerware has been made here for 1300 years.

Wajima-nuri begins with a wooden vessel.

Countless layers of urushi resin strengthen this base.

Delicate techniques are then employed to decorate.

There are over a hundred processes all told, with experts involved at every stage.

It's a traditional craft that makes artworks from everyday items.

The recent earthquake seriously affected artisans,

destroying crucial infrastructure and disrupting the careful system of divided labor.

Some fear that Wajima-nuri could disappear completely.

This time, Shaula and I report on a reconstruction design project that's helping artisans ensure a future for this beautiful craft.

Let me introduce you the main organizer of this new movement.

Product designer, Suzuki Keita.

Hello!

- Great to see you again.
- Likewise, a pleasure.

What's your relationship with Wajima-nuri?

I've always loved Wajima-nuri as a craft. It's so beautiful.

I'm a product designer from Tokyo.

I wanted to find a way to help.

So I built a temporary studio.

It seemed important to provide a place where artisans could continue working.

I see.

When Tokyo-based Suzuki Keita heard of the disaster on New Year's Day, he says he couldn't sleep.

With the distributed work approach in tatters, Wajima-nuri had come to a standstill.

So Suzuki made a suggestion.

His idea began with a temporary workspace.

Next, he looked at the shards of Ishikawa's traditional Kutani porcelain.

And he proposed that Wajima-nuri artisans repair it.

Over here.

The temporary studio was built in the largely undamaged south of the prefecture.

Hello, Ohmukai-san.

- Hi, I'm Ohmukai.
- Hello, I'm Andy.

I work in Wajima lacquerware.

I manage creators and artisans.

My own job is connecting the creators with the consumers.

Can you tell me a little about the situation after the quake?

Most artisans worked at home.

Many of them are elderly.

They worked in older houses. Many of those are damaged or destroyed.

The majority evacuated to southern Ishikawa and haven't returned.

You evacuated too?

Oh yes, I had no choice. My office was completely destroyed.

But if we don't start the ball rolling again, we'll all stay in stasis.

People have no work to do. They have nowhere to do the work.

That's led many of them to consider quitting altogether.

I'd heard about this.

We've talked about how there's no future without a place to work.

Artisans need a workspace as soon as possible.

May I see inside?

- Of course!
- Thank you.

The temporary space is in the upstairs of an old house.

Work commenced in late February.

- Come in.
- Excuse me.

Greeting me is a piece by a Wajima-nuri artisan, completed for the project.

It was broken in the disaster but Wajima-nuri includes "kintsugi" work.

It's a technique for repairing broken porcelain or ceramics.

We had a "maki-e" artist who adds images to lacquer.

Our project is about using kintsugi techniques to create art.

Kutani porcelain has been made in southern Ishikawa prefecture for about 400 years.

The white ceramic is made with local clay.

It's best known for its vibrant artwork.

The five-color, or gosaide style uses red, green, yellow, purple, and navy blue.

It's prized around the world.

Although it didn't suffer the same damage as Wajima, many Kutani pieces broke in the earthquake.

Suzuki and his team are carefully picking up the pieces.

It got cracked in the quake but it originally had a hole.

A hole?

Isn't it gorgeous? A random pattern made by the quake.

Shaped by nature and human ingenuity.

Father and son Ebata Toshio and Hiroyuki are working together on the project.

Both are maki-e artisans.

They're making a new artwork from this broken vase.

At work.

- Go in.
- Thank you.

He's holding a "funzutsu."

Gold powder is placed in that bamboo tube. It has a mesh tip.

I see.

He carefully aims the tip to dust the gold where he needs it.

A pleasure to meet you both. I'm Andy.

Toshio is a veteran artisan of around 70 years.

He shows us some of his most impressive work.

Here, he's cut iridescent shells into 0.25-millimeter strips and attached them to the sides.

The lid has a delicate dusting of gold.

Amazing! Look inside, too. Oh wow...

The details are incredible!

How is the workshop? Even a temporary space must make all the difference.

I'm very grateful for their help. I'm a craftsman.

You want to practice your art.

Need to keep the mind sharp.

I see. Have you gotten used to it here?

- Pretty much.
- We're adaptable.

- Tatami mats.
- That's important?

Oh, yes.

Tools within reach.

I guess we get used to new spaces.

The key is exercising the hands and mind.

Yes, it all comes down to the work. We're craftsmen, after all.

Which is why we're grateful.

It's not our old line of work but a new challenge. We get to learn.

You're learning?

Thanks to everyone. It's energizing.

We have to live up to that. Do good work.

Suzuki-san has an excellent eye. This is thanks to him.

I knew regular gold wouldn't work with that design.

Standard kintsugi only uses one shade of gold.

Using a gradation is new. But I have a way to go.

I thought I could get close to what Suzuki-san was looking for.

Only using gold, silver, and the white of the vase.

I ran through ideas, trying to find the answer.

There's always a right answer.

It's never a compromise. Each iteration was shown with pride.

That competitive spirit is wonderful!

Amazing.

I'd never seen anything like it. I'm truly blown away.

This is a genuine first in the craft's long history. A true challenge!

The kintsugi repairs are shaping new potential for the artisans of Wajima.

Wajima was badly scarred by the earthquake.

People are working hard to restore work spaces for artisans.

Kirimoto Taiichi runs a Wajima-nuri studio in the town.

I've met him before to talk about his work.

He doesn't limit himself to traditional shapes,

but also seeks to design for contemporary lifestyles through modern Wajima-nuri pieces.

His workshop was badly hit.

Footage from soon after the quake shows the extent of the damage.

Kirimoto worked desperately to find anything he could still use from the ruins.

This chip here. From fall damage. You can feel it with your finger.

I can fill it, smooth it. Then add mid layers and top layers.

It can be fixed.

That's always been part of Wajima-nuri. It's repairable.

The work can be repaired, and thankfully the artisans were uninjured.

Kirimoto wanted to rebuild his Wajima studio as fast as possible.

So he turned to internationally-renowned architect Shigeru Ban.

Ban developed a unique construction method

which involves wrapping recycled paper to create tubes.

These are used to build walls and pillars.

The paper tubes are economical, light, and easy to transport.

Structural tests have proven their strength, and they can be treated to be waterproof.

Around 30 years ago, Ban began volunteering as soon as he heard of a disaster or a conflict anywhere around the world.

He's continued to support refugees with his work,

and has been recognized with the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Early March.

Kirimoto used all of his personal savings to prepare the ground,

and to build a temporary workshop using Ban's techniques.

Ban found time to visit the construction.

He, two of his staff, and the Wajima-nuri artisans installed the insulation and paper tubes for the walls.

Look at that.

Kirimoto wanted to spread the news about this revolutionary building.

One evacuee artisan came to see it.

I want to return in April or May. I want to work!

Lacquer artisan and workshop owner Akiyama also lost her workspace.

She wants to rebuild in the Noto area.

Thanks for meeting me.

She wants to build, get back to work.

I see, yes, of course.

I have to keep my hands busy.

- You'll have to help build.
- Of course!

It'll make it feel like your own.

I'll reach out to people.

It'll be okay. Don't worry.

It's done. 13 hours over 2 days.

If it lasts 7, 8, 10 years, that's enough.

Having it done in early March means a lot to me.

Kirimoto moved fast, and Ban responded.

The wood and paper design has an organic warmth that's sure to help bring artisans back to Wajima.

The collab between Kutani porcelain and Wajima-nuri has led to a new artwork.

Let's visit Suzuki Keita's office in Tokyo.

Hi, nice to see you again!

A pleasure! How are you, Shaula?

Great, thank you! This is my first visit to your office.

Then welcome!

So here are some of your works. Which we featured before.

Yes, thank you.

I remember peeling an apple with this knife on the show!

- That's right!
- What is this?

That's an updated teapot.

What?

It looks unusual, but this is the lid.

A teapot?

The cup is inside. Tea leaves in here, add water.

Close the lid and you can pour from anywhere. No strainer.

I see!

The mesh in the lid serves as a strainer.

Very portable, isn't it?

And easy to clean and store. I hope it catches on.

And here is the work created by the Ebata father and son maki-e craftsmen.

Suzuki plans to exhibit it at a Good Design Award event in June.

A large Kutani vase was broken. Wajima-nuri artisans took a piece.

They added urushi to create a new, experimental artform.

The duo has painted urushi resin onto the broken edges, then dusted it with gold and silver.

In places the golden hue deepens or lightens, creating a sense of transformation.

This is also made of gold and silver. Urushi is painted on the cracks.

- In here too?
- That's right.

Wow!

It's a determined statement by Wajima artisans.

The broken can be repaired.

This is "Jitsugetsu" or 'Sun and Moon.' A classical lacquerware motif.

The silver and gold are the sun and moon.

Contrasting them in this way is a classic Wajima-nuri form.

Many Japanese crafts traditionally express seasonality.

But a mixture of gold and silver leaf could be used throughout the year.

In other words, it was reserved for masterpieces of everyday, daily items.

And they did this for their first piece! I'm so delighted by that.

How did the potters react to this?

The people and studios that make this beautiful Kutani porcelain.

They were very hurt and upset that these works were broken in the quake.

Yet Wajima suffered such overwhelming damage.

They felt their own losses couldn't really compare.

So they were delighted to take part in our project when we explained it.

They were very happy about it.

Kintsugi began as a way to repair porcelain such as Kutani ware.

They looked forward to seeing what Wajima's artisans would do.

Excited about a new step in their art's history.

What a wonderful way to think about it!

Yes, of course it's a huge disaster.

But it might lead to a historic evolution in Japanese arts and crafts.

I admire that reframing. It's important.

And the project was your idea.

You helped bring people together and offer a brighter prospect.

Survivors didn't have to do it alone. They got help from elsewhere.

Yes, news of disasters fades after a while. We return to our daily lives.

This helps people remember. That's what I wanted to ensure.

My role is a backstage one, I talk to people.

I want to help the work of Wajima and Kutani become better known.

Suzuki wants to showcase the beauty - and the current circumstances - of crafts in the Noto Peninsula.

He held a Tokyo exhibition of repaired Wajima-nuri and Kutani porcelain.

The event also showed some of the pieces reworked by the Ebata family.

I love that the designs use broken items.

They don't try to hide it.

I learned there's more to the area than lacquer. Gorgeous pottery.

Suzuki's group is hoping that all of these pieces can be transformed.

What drives Suzuki's passion for arts and crafts?

These are the Wajima-nuri pieces which first inspired him.

My focus began with a Wajima-nuri artist.

The late Kado Isaburo.

He was very concerned with region. The idea of locality.

He would find materials from one place and make something there.

His work was intimately rooted in specific locations.

Although I'm a designer now I originally wanted to study crafts.

Really?

Yes, I studied it at university.

I'm deeply inspired by how we make things with our hands.

It's been part of human history for millennia. That really speaks to me.

But it didn't work out. I failed my entrance exam.

I see.

But I still passionately love crafts.

I eat from Wajima-nuri bowls every day. It's part of my life.

As a modern artist, Kado Isaburo was a legend, even among superstars.

This is his best-known design, a goroku-wan bowl.

It's designed so you can eat soba, tofu, or rice out of it.

I'd be too scared to!

Right? Yet when you visit Noto, you see these in ordinary soba joints.

Oh wow!

When I saw that, I realized....

Art is an inextricable part of life in Wajima.

Work like that can be an inspiration.

It can shape our aesthetics in all spheres.

It's one more reason we cannot let these crafts vanish from Noto.

So many Japanese crafts have modernized.

Artisans working alongside machines and factories. A new approach.

Wajima rejects that. All of the work is done by hand.

Each artisan specialized in one field. Making a single bowl took six people.

The work was divided into six tasks, and they'd all create it together.

What a display of teamwork and cooperation, don't you think?

Wajima hasn't changed that approach for centuries.

- Wow! Can I really touch it?
- Please do! It's wonderful.

I'm sweating!

I get that! But it fits smoothly in your hands, doesn't it?

Perfect weight!

Yes, because it's made of wood. And the smooth urushi lacquer.

The texture is indescribable.

Lumps of urushi resin collect in the tubs as lacquerware is made.

Normally it's thrown out.

But Kado incorporated them into his work.

It's about not wasting things. People often call broken items trash.

But our project rejects that view. We turn the pieces back into art.

Kado saw these lumps as a new aspect of urushi and added them to his design.

I see a connection between his ideas and the spirit of our studios.

It may sound presumptuous! But I really do believe that.

Holding it myself is so different from just seeing it.

Definitely.

Even without the earthquake, artisans are disappearing, aren't they?

Sadly so.

The idea we might lose something so historic and so beautiful....

- That would be such a waste!
- I agree.

Finding new connections and relationships is the key, isn't it?

Definitely, yes.

How do we keep Wajima's spirit of craftsmanship alive?

The answers may lie in new, artistic transformations.