Journal

From 14 September 2024, Kagoshima: More Stories in Craft from South Japan, will launch at wagumi.This is the second in our ‘Stories’ series introducing the crafts, culture, human and natural landscapes of this characterful region of Japan. The launch coincides with London Design Festival.Details of some of the stories we presented in the first edition can be seen here, and makers such as Kaori Sasaki / Nohara-ya and the Ryumonji ceramic collective will return for 2024.This year, for the first time we will also present makers and lineages in craft such as the Satsuma Kiriko cut glass of Miriyu Kōbō,...

*This blog post dates from the first Kagoshima Stories collection in late 2023. More Stories from Kagoshima, a second instalment, will launch in September 2024.* At wagumi now we have a collection of items from Kagoshima in south Japan. This is entitled Kagoshima: Stories in Craft from South Japan. The collection page can be seen here, as we upload to it.Kagoshima was created from the old Satsuma and Ōsumi domains in the late 19th century, and possesses a very distinct history.It is centred on a city in a bay facing a volcano, and has been a place of periodic eruptions, historical adventures and...

A land of understated minimalism, Japan is equally a place for the bright coloured patterns of kimono. Its tradition in dye is rich, and reflects centuries in development. The colourful partitions between rooms, a folded piece of fabric in a bag, or hanging at the entrance of a temple or business. One the most vibrant techniques is katazome, or stencil dye, which is both part of Japan’s classic and modern language in design.At wagumi for summer 2022, we have a collection from a contemporary exponent of katazome: Toyokazu Ono, who works at his Yotsume dye studio in southern Japan. Ono’s...

Beginning this month at wagumi we will present a collection of items from Tsubame-Sanjo in Niigata, northern Japan.This is an area known for its legacy in metal craft, and for the innumerable small and medium size enterprises that are ever creating new items for use. They are masters in engineering, in craft, and in ideas for things that will make tasks a little more smooth and enjoyable.Tsubame and Sanjo are in fact two towns in the fertile rice growing region of Niigata, separated by the Shinano river. This proximity to the river was the cause of near downfall for their...