NIPPON FOLK
This month's feature · Craft · Shikoku

JAPAN BLUE

Green when it leaves the vat, blue when it meets the air — Japan's living indigo, built by microbes on the flood-fed Yoshino River.

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Recording what is disappearing——
writing it down, handing it on quietly.

Travel the Japan that still lives in daily use.

Read the feature → Series “Ryūiki” →
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JAPAN BLUE
This month's feature · Craft · Shikoku

JAPAN BLUE

Japan Blue — awa-ai, natural fermentation indigo from Tokushima. Green from the vat, blue in the air; true fermentation indigo is now about 1% of what is sold.

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SeriesSeries About the series →
Series 01 ・ River Basin

Ryūiki

Follow a river upstream and you meet the hand. Crafts and food the water raised, read as one basin.

No.1 RyūikiFollowing a river, tracing the hand — from the source down to the sea. Read →
New in the dictionary Craft ・ Tourism ・ Food ・ Festival
Tsugaru-nuri
/en/craft/tohoku/tsugaru-nuri/ Craft

Tsugaru-nuri

A lacquerware of Hirosaki. Its 'karanuri' p…

Craft
Hana-Matsuri (Oku-Mikawa)
/en/event/chubu/okumikawa-hana-matsuri/

Hana-Matsuri (Oku-Mikawa)

An all-night winter kagura in the mountains…

Festival
Satsuma Kiriko
/en/craft/kyushu/satsuma-kiriko/ Craft

Satsuma Kiriko

Born in late-Edo Satsuma, lost to war, and …

Craft
Hiruzen Gama-zaiku
/en/craft/chugoku/hiruzen-gama/ Craft

Hiruzen Gama-zaiku

In a highland that lies “a hundred days und…

Craft
INDEX ——all entries
Tsugaru-nuriCraft Hana-Matsuri (Oku-Mikawa)Festival Satsuma KirikoCraft Hiruzen Gama-zaikuCraft Okawa Kumiko工芸・木工 Hakata Gion YamakasaFestival · Summer Jojima sake breweriesFood · Sake Yame chochinCraft · Light Yame-Fukushima Toro-ningyoFestival · Autumn Kurume-gasuriCraft · Textile Fukae River FestivalFestival · Summer SANSAI (wild mountain greens)Food · Spring Aizome (Japan Blue)Japan Blue Beppu Bamboohot-spring bamboo Onta WareChikugo basin Nambu IronwareKitakami basin Mino WashiNagara river
The map ・ Travel

A map for going there.

Not only to read. Routes we recommend, and an index by purpose — a map for actually visiting the places the hand still works. The first route follows the Chikugo river.

Kyūshū10 Tōhoku3 Chūbu2 Shikoku1 Chūgoku1 Other regions — in progress
Open the map →