Miyazaki Traditional Folk Crafts

(Bows)

Designated as a National Traditional Folk Craft Object, these bows are highly valued in Japan for their beauty, form and expertly crafted techniques. Ninety percent of all bamboo bows produced in Japan are made in Miyakonojo.

Eagle and hawk tail feathers are used for these completely handcrafted arrows. Traditional techniques shine forth in all steps from preparation with lacquer and finishing with gold leaf, to gently straightening the curved bamboo for the fashioning of the shaft.

The history of Sadowara dolls goes back at least 400 years. Color is applied using mud and earth pigments, and the simple folk-style of these dolls continues to warm the heart.

The delicate striations on the surface of these hamaguri clamshell stones give them their distinctive beauty. Hyuga is the only place which produces go stones made from hamaguri clamshell, valued as the finest quality for their color and sparkle.

Since the Edo period, these toys, made similar to paper-mache, have been meant to bring about wishes for success, health, peace, and plentiful lives for the children who use them. The well-loved monkey appears to dance as it climbs up and down the pole with the movement of the wind and flag.

(Sacred Night Dance) Masks

Takachiho Kagura is a tradition recognized by the Japanese government as an "Important Intangible Cultural Treasure", and these masks are used when the dances are performed. They are works of art, carved with bold expressive strokes into soft paulownia (kiri) or camphor (kusu) wood.

Hyuga Go Boards are crafted from Kaya trees, known as "Japan's Kaya", that are several hundred years old. The luster and grain of the wood characterize their natural beauty and make this a foremost craft object in all Japan.

Miyazaki Rokuro Craft Objects are produced completely by hand from the wood of such trees as the zelkova and cherry. Skillful expertise is required to bring the roughness of the lumbered wood to a refined finish. Miyazaki has even developed its own unique paint and varnish materials which could only have come about through years of honing this craft.

Distinctive colors and a fine aesthetic sensibility characterize this type of weaving. Silk thread is immersed in dye made from wild plants and grasses from local mountains and fields, then hand-woven on foot-powered looms using methods which have been passed down from olden times.

The unique characteristics of Japan's martial arts equipment are expressed in Miyakonojo Wooden Swords and Hyuga Armor which are made with highly refined techniques passed down in a long tradition of expert artisans. This equipment is highly valued both within and outside Miyazaki Prefecture, and eighty percent of all the swords made in Japan are from Miyakonojo.

Bamboo products useful for everyday life are crafted by artisans using highly skillful techniques. These baskets are said to be works of art both within Japan and outside the country, and derive their appeal from a combination of their strength and the beauty of their simple forms.

From around 1860, ceramic ware made in the Komatsubara area of Miyakonojo came to be known for its strong lines and solid impression. Subtle and exacting techniques are required by the skilled artisan in order to achieve the textural richness on the surface of these pieces.

Japanese Paper (Washi)

The making of traditional Japanese handlaid paper in Miyazaki had already become an important industry in the Edo period. At present, however, only one workshop still makes handlaid paper. A distinctive touch and beauty provide this paper with its special eternal appeal.

Themes encompassing Japan's traditional beauty are often expressed in these works using western glass materials. Both in name and reality they are a "Contemporary Master Craft" and have come to be considered works of art highly valued overseas as well as in Japan.

The distinctive way of applying the decorative pattern called Tsuikin characterizes Miyazaki Lacquerware. The high temperatures and ample humidity of Miyazaki's climate are well suited for drying the pieces that enable the beauty of their distinctive vermilion color to shine forth.