World focus: Keeping Japan's old crafts alive

Artisans worry youth may lack patience to spend years learning ancient techniques

Mr Tamaya Shobei, a ninth-generation puppet-maker, is said to be Japan's only specialist in karakuri dolls. These dolls are operated by a clockwork mechanism and are often used on floats at Shinto festivals.
Top: The ninth-generation Tamaya Shobei, 65, with the handcrafted tools he uses to make and repair karakuri dolls. Mr Tamaya, born Shoji Takashina, began his apprenticeship at 25. Above: The skeleton of a karakuri puppet in Mr Tamaya's atelier. The k
Nagoya Castle, which was built in 1615. PHOTO: COURTESY OF NUR ATIQAH MOHD HAIZAN
Top: The ninth-generation Tamaya Shobei, 65, with the handcrafted tools he uses to make and repair karakuri dolls. Mr Tamaya, born Shoji Takashina, began his apprenticeship at 25. Above: The skeleton of a karakuri puppet in Mr Tamaya's atelier. The k
Mrs Kyoko Matsuoka, 76, has 50 years of experience working on Arimatsu shibori, a tie-dye technique that is native to Nagoya and is more than 400 years old. ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Top: The ninth-generation Tamaya Shobei, 65, with the handcrafted tools he uses to make and repair karakuri dolls. Mr Tamaya, born Shoji Takashina, began his apprenticeship at 25. Above: The skeleton of a karakuri puppet in Mr Tamaya's atelier. The k
The ninth-generation Tamaya Shobei, 65, with the handcrafted tools he uses to make and repair karakuri dolls. Mr Tamaya, born Shoji Takashina, began his apprenticeship at 25. ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Top: The ninth-generation Tamaya Shobei, 65, with the handcrafted tools he uses to make and repair karakuri dolls. Mr Tamaya, born Shoji Takashina, began his apprenticeship at 25. Above: The skeleton of a karakuri puppet in Mr Tamaya's atelier. The k
Mr Shoji Fujii, 31, discovered Arimatsu shibori when he was a design undergraduate at Nagoya University, and is trying to popularise the craft abroad. ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Top: The ninth-generation Tamaya Shobei, 65, with the handcrafted tools he uses to make and repair karakuri dolls. Mr Tamaya, born Shoji Takashina, began his apprenticeship at 25. Above: The skeleton of a karakuri puppet in Mr Tamaya's atelier. The k
The skeleton of a karakuri puppet in Mr Tamaya’s atelier. The karakuri dolls in his studio include one that can be wound to carry cups of tea, and another that can write calligraphy. ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Top: The ninth-generation Tamaya Shobei, 65, with the handcrafted tools he uses to make and repair karakuri dolls. Mr Tamaya, born Shoji Takashina, began his apprenticeship at 25. Above: The skeleton of a karakuri puppet in Mr Tamaya's atelier. The k
Those who helped restore Nagoya Castle’s Hommaru Palace include (back row, from left) Hazama Ando Corporation’s Mr Kazuhiko Yoshihara, sculptor Ryousen Iwakura, metalsmith Masashi Goto, seen here with a replica made for the palace, and (front row, from left) Uotsu Shaji’s chairman Genji Uotsu, CEO Tadahiro Uotsu and carpenter Tsutomu Sugimoto. Uotsu Shaji specialises in shrine and temple architecture.
ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Top: The ninth-generation Tamaya Shobei, 65, with the handcrafted tools he uses to make and repair karakuri dolls. Mr Tamaya, born Shoji Takashina, began his apprenticeship at 25. Above: The skeleton of a karakuri puppet in Mr Tamaya's atelier. The k
Those who helped restore Nagoya Castle’s Hommaru Palace include (back row, from left) Hazama Ando Corporation’s Mr Kazuhiko Yoshihara, sculptor Ryousen Iwakura, metalsmith Masashi Goto, seen here with a replica (above) made for the palace, and Uotsu Shaji’s chairman Genji Uotsu, CEO Tadahiro Uotsu and carpenter Tsutomu Sugimoto. Uotsu Shaji specialises in shrine and temple architecture.
ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Top: The ninth-generation Tamaya Shobei, 65, with the handcrafted tools he uses to make and repair karakuri dolls. Mr Tamaya, born Shoji Takashina, began his apprenticeship at 25. Above: The skeleton of a karakuri puppet in Mr Tamaya's atelier. The k
The restored Jorakuden (Shogun Accommodation Hall), the most luxurious of the Hommaru buildings. ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Walter Sim In Nagoya (Aichi Prefecture)
Updated
Nov 19, 2019, 02:15 PM
Published
Nov 19, 2019, 05:00 AM
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In his 50 years of experience as a metalsmith, Mr Masashi Goto counts the restoration of the 400-year-old Hommaru Palace at Nagoya Castle as his hardest assignment yet.

The lavish palace, which was built in 1615 and served as the home of the shogun, was razed during air raids in World War II. The city of Nagoya decided to give the palace a new lease of life in honour of its rich heritage, and the reconstruction, which started in 2009, ended last year.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 19, 2019, with the headline World focus: Keeping Japan's old crafts alive. Subscribe

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MCI (P) 066/10/2023. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2024 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.

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