Designing Traditional Crafts to Pass Them on to the Next Generation

Department of Design Strategy,Faculty of Design
Associate Professor　Minako Ikeda

The decline of traditional crafts has become a challenge common to industrialized nations. The knowledge, techniques, and thought of traditional crafts have been passed down through hundreds of years and are an important part of regional cultures, but the pursuit of high-grade mass production technology and convenience has made them no longer relevant to contemporary life in terms of neither functionality nor taste. Therefore, I believe that we need take the knowledge and techniques that people have cultivated in their daily lives and apply it to modern practical products, and research ways to further these crafts as a part of today’s way of life. Together with regional artisans and designers, we are looking for ways to understand and pass on to the next generation the essence of the techniques and spirit of traditional crafts, as well as to facilitate design creation that is more compatible with today’s values.

I would like to give one concrete example from our research. There was one product design project involving the Koishiwara ware of Asakura District, Fukuoka, which goes back more than 300 years. I paid many visits to the area and spent a great deal of time speaking with the people there in order to learn more about the history of pottery production, how potters make a living, workshop management, regional climate, natural features, and materials, pottery techniques, and even the producers’ families and values. In addition to the craftsmen, I also surveyed the end-users’ perspective, including modern styles of dining and how tableware is used.

Below are prototypes of a new tableware series designed on the basis of my comprehensive survey of artisans, end-users, as well as the environment that surrounds them.

The design concept is “timelessness and sharing.” The concept of “timelessness” comes from the ability to produce the necessary number of products when needed in the same form as in past generations thanks to the artisan having someone to pass the craft on to and the manual production process. The concept of “sharing” comes from the strength of the village’s sense of community and the custom of eating meals in big groups, and is a concept that suggests a more fulfilling lifestyle in the modern world. To physically express the concept of “sharing,” large plates 40 cm in diameter were designed using a special technique for producing larger pieces of pottery. Three or four round plates were made separately using a pottery wheel and were designed to fit together, allowing three or four different dishes to be put on one plate and encouraging people to embrace that enjoyable act of “sharing” food.

I have also been involved in a product design project that uses cutlery and Yame stone made using the techniques of Yame Fukushima Buddhist alters, a traditional craft from Yame, Fukuoka. I believe that practical, real-world research is effective for helping to pass along traditional crafts to future generations. In order to carry out such research, it is imperative to collaborate with regional artisans.

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Design Strategy, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University,
Associate Professor　Minako Ikeda