{"id":88274,"date":"2021-12-23T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=88274"},"modified":"2021-12-23T01:54:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T16:54:50","slug":"shikoku-traditional-arts-and-crafts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/shikoku-traditional-arts-and-crafts\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands-On With Shikoku’s Traditional Arts and Crafts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a travel writer, I admit to often focusing too much on the incredible things to see in Japan. It is a visually remarkable country, evident in the countless images of Japan compiled and consumed daily on social media. But to see Japan is to forget your other four senses, each contributing to the complete Japan experience. To truly experience Japan, you must EXPERIENCE Japan with your hands, nose, ears, and mouth as well. And there is no better place to dive headlong into Japan than the array of traditional arts and crafts experiences<\/strong> available while traveling around Shikoku Island<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Edo Period Appeal of Udatsu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Okubo-san’s hands’ skin and nails are tinged blue, the telltale sign of her aizome<\/em> trade. Aizome <\/em>(natural indigo-dying)<\/strong> artisans often forgo rubber gloves to protect their hands from discoloration, preferring to feel the temperature of the dye and the condition of the cloth more easily. In her studio in Tokushima’s Udatsu historical district of Mima city, Okubo-san has taught indigo dyeing to visitors for three years, although she herself has been practicing the art for years longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Japanese<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A trip around Shikoku presents visitors with an array of opportunities to experience Japanese traditional arts and crafts, from indigo-dyeing to soba making, geta (traditional wooden sandals), to wagasa (paper umbrellas)<\/strong>, and many things in between. Taking part in the production of various Japanese crafts helped me to appreciate the amount of effort given to produce even the simplest of items and made me realize that the survival of these traditions is not something that can be taken for granted here in aging Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We began our tour of Shikoku’s arts and crafts here in Mima city (\u7f8e\u99ac\u5e02)<\/strong>. Wakimachi Udatsu Street<\/a> <\/strong>stands relatively unchanged from its development during the Edo Period over 300 years earlier. The whitewashed clay buildings were built with an extra wall known as “udatsu,” which acted as both a firewall and a decorative piece of architecture between buildings. In the fire-prone Edo Period<\/a>, where wooden structures burned down regularly, the udatsu served their purpose admirably, and the oldest structure on the street remains as it was built in 1707.<\/p>\n\n\n\n