It is my pleasure to serve as guest editor for this month’s edition of the Sainsbury Institute e-bulletin. Born and raised in Austria, my academic journey has brought me to Japan, Kazakhstan, Germany, and now to the United Kingdom, to work at the intersection of Japanese history, art history, gender studies, and environmental studies. After six years as a lecturer and assistant professor (‘wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin’) in Japanese Studies at the Free University of Berlin, it is an honour to be working as a Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow with and alongside leading academic experts at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Over the past years, I became increasingly intrigued by the roles of women across the fields of art and craftsmanship, which ties into my broader vision as a scholar today: To make women’s cultural heritage visible, by carefully listening to their narratives and closely looking at their creations.
My curiosity led to the topic that I have pursued in my doctoral dissertation, which concerns the identities, techniques, and objects of women working in the traditional craft industry of Tokyo. After completing my PhD in December 2024, I am delighted that my monograph is forthcoming with Bloomsbury Publishing, as part of the SOAS Studies in Modern and Contemporary Japan series. In it, I focus on the district of Arakawa in Tokyo, which initially caught my interest due to its unique training system to educate the next generation of craft experts. This scheme makes Arakawa the perfect place to study the past, present, and the possible future of traditional crafts. There is currently a total of fifty-five registered craftspeople (shokunin) who are active as ‘Bearer of Traditional Craftsmanship Techniques’ in the district. However, in the present, most of Arakawa’s established craftspeople are men, as only five out of fifty-five shokunin are women. They are working each in a different discipline, namely Edo metal carving (Edo chōkin), Edo folding fans (Edo sensu), Edo ornamental hairpins (Edo tsumamikanzashi), Tokyo tegaki yūzen kimono dyeing technique (Tōkyō tegaki yūzen), and Edo dolls (Edo ningyō).
The reason for the light presence of established women in this industry today is that techniques were passed on within the family through the ‘head of the household’ (iemoto) hereditary system and guilds in the past. This tradition goes back to the Edo period (1603–1868), when workshops were mostly family businesses and handed down to the eldest son. During my fieldwork in Tokyo, however, I quickly noticed how many craft businesses are relying on the contribution of women who are working anonymously in the background: They are mothers, grandmothers, wives, and daughters who are silently supporting their male family members. Despite using techniques that were passed down for centuries and being indispensable for the businesses, they are not identifying themselves as ‘craftspeople.’ To ensure the survival of craftsmanship, I hence argue that we need a multi-layered approach that not only acknowledges established craftspeople and apprentices, but also women who think of themselves as ‘assistants’ in their families’ workshops.
Turning to the forefront of the workshops, we see a new generation of craftswomen and apprentices that is creating a change in Arakawa’s craft industry. In my book, I discuss the promise of a future shift in the gender balance of this industry, as half of the young people now in training are women. Interestingly, the rise of young craftswomen in this traditional environment is dramatically changing the landscape of kōgei: Having a different taste than their male teachers, they are using different colours and designs than the generations before. With the help of social media, they are collaborating with international illustrators to reach new audiences. Indeed, by using centuries old techniques but creating new designs, many of these women have the ability to embody themselves and their personal preferences in their objects. By expressing themselves more creatively, Arakawa’s craftswomen are also blurring the boundaries between art and craftsmanship. This, in turn, leads to new creations in the disciplines such as Tokyo cloisonné enamel ware (Tōkyō shippō), Edo metal hammering (Edo tankin), Edo woodblock printing (Edo moku-hanga), or Edo wood joinery (Edo sashimono).
I look forward to welcoming leading scholars in the field of traditional crafts to further discuss with them the roles of women in my workshop ‘Women in Traditional Craftsmanship: Past, Present, and Future Possibilities’ at the Sainsbury Institute. Furthermore, I am currently planning a photography exhibition in Norwich that spotlights the behind-the-scenes of multi-generational traditional craft workshops in Arakawa. Inspired by the past and recent curatorial work of Professor Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere on manga, I am also interested in the widely accessible and admired medium of popular culture. As a result, I started my fellowship in Norwich by completing an article on two manga series, which portray heroines who pursue a career in the disciplines of Bizen pottery (Bizen yaki) and blacksmithing (kaji). Moreover, I am honoured to join AWITA – Association of Women in the Arts as a sponsored member in 2026 to further connect and work with inspirational women professionals across the arts.
Beyond the Sainsbury Institute’s research focus on traditional crafts and popular culture, I feel fortunate to benefit from the institute’s partnership with the University of East Anglia (UEA), which is renowned for its research in environmental studies. This is meaningful to me, as my current research activities will culminate in my second book project, The Ecological Cost of Pearl Jewellery: Hydrofeminism, Craft, and Resource Extraction in Japan, 1893–2025 (working title). It examines the environmental challenges pearl farmers, pearl divers, jewellery makers, and collectors face in the Anthropocene. As major players in global luxury markets and Japan’s jewellery industry, their stories and the pearl artifacts they design, craft, and consume, alert us to the ecological cost of maritime extraction and our planet’s condition at large. By producing novel academic insights and offering pathways to sustainability, my goal is to fill this gap in research by systematically exploring women’s connections with the ocean in the pearl jewellery industry of Japan. This is timely, as we are now at a crucial juncture in history, when orally preserved knowledge on century-old practices of extraction as well as maritime life itself are under immediate threat of disappearing. Indeed, we are presented today with what are the consequences of humankind’s choices, including global warming, the Covid-19-pandemic, and the mass extinction of plant and animal life. Environmental studies have been highlighting this devastation in our planet’s environment for decades, and the marine habitat is no exception. Looking at a piece of jewellery, a carefully crafted pearl earring or an elaborately made pearl necklace, these aspects remain hidden at first sight. Yet, through art historical analysis via an ecocritical lens they can be exposed, systematically analysed, and widely shared.
My most recent fieldwork for this project has been undertaken during the summer of 2025, as a guest research fellow at Waseda University, hosted by gender historian Professor Fujino Yūko. During my visits to Tokyo and Toba, I conducted interviews with women pearl cultivators, ama divers, antique jewellery shop owners, jewellery designers, and created 13,000 photographic insights. It was a pleasure to connect with jewellery artists and pearl industry professionals by participating in jewellery-related events and exhibitions. I have also been fortunate to receive generous institutional support by the Mikimoto Pearl Museum, the Japan Jewellery Designer Association, and the Tategami Pearl Cultivation and Fishery Cooperative.
Given the abundance of primary sources I have collected, time and an inspiring academic environment are now the most essential resources for advancing my projects. I am therefore truly grateful for the opportunities provided by the Sainsbury Institute to fully immerse myself into my own research, while also being actively involved in its rich programme of academic events. The generous time, space, and outstanding resources of the Lisa Sainsbury Library make the Institute an ideal place for pursuing long-term academic goals. I look forward to the rest of my tenure and hope to contribute to the Institute in a meaningful way.
All photographs shown in this piece were taken by and are the property of Clara Momoko Geber-Mérida.
Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow, 2025-26