Report on the talk ‘Women in Japan’s Contemporary Craft: Crossing the Boundaries of ‘Tradition’ in Arakawa, Tokyo’

On a sunny evening in a full room with many others joining online, the Sainsbury Institute welcomed Dr Clara Momoko Geber-Mérida (Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow) for their June Third Thursday Lecture – the penultimate in their current academic programme. In this talk, Dr Geber-Mérida provided a fascinating insight into traditional craft (dentō kōgei) within the Arakawa area of Tokyo. Known as the ‘City of Traditional Craft’ it is an area famed for its long heritage of craftmaking. This has been a topic of dedicated focus for Dr Geber-Mérida in her time as a Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow, as she completes her forthcoming monograph under contract with Bloomsbury.

As is all too often in the histories of women, their absence is normalised to such an extent that women themselves internalise the narrative. This is no more evident than in the opening quote of the talk from Kaku Matsuko: “I am not a craftswoman – I am just supporting my husband. I think that every wife of my generation will tell a similar story”. Here, Kaku Matsuko, a deeply talented craftswoman in lacquerware, sees herself not as a craftsperson, but rather as a woman simply doing what women do – supporting their partners, caring for their family, managing the household. But as Dr Geber-Mérida detailed, this quote hides a wealth of labour completed by Kaku, while her husband was trained with a decade-long apprenticeship and always provided the ‘final touch’, Kaku’s craft was also developed over extended periods of careful work and was central to the completion of the exquisite lacquer work. Kaku may not see herself as a craft professional, but she very much is one.

Absorbed into the invisible labour of the home, the work of these women in the craft industry becomes simply another extension of such labour. Kaku is not alone in such an approach to her work, we heard examples of daughters seen as ‘no other choice’ within family businesses or trained by mothers to do peripheral craft work (such as tying rattan handles onto hammered teapots and undertaking accounting for the business). Unseen for centuries, these women’s roles have been central to the development of this profession and only recently have these daughters thought it might even be possible to take on family businesses. The complex skills that Kaku Matsuko and her other female peers across a range of media have developed, therefore point not to the absence of women but rather their invisibility.

Dr Geber-Mérida painted a rich picture of how women in this profession have ended up in such a position. In part gender norms, in part structural barriers, Dr Geber-Mérida detailed how such inattention to the central role of women in the profession is also reproduced in formal systems of recognition. Thus, this becomes an epistemological invisibility as much as a structural one. If women do not see themselves as craft professionals, how can formal systems of measurement come to count them in the first place? The response, to quote Dr Geber-Mérida is that these women will remain invisible “unless we ask the right questions and listen carefully”.

But all is not lost within this picture, times have changed for the craft industry of contemporary Japan. Dr Geber-Mérida explains how an ageing demography has led to the number of craftspeople declining, there are a lack of successors in family businesses, craft objects no longer have the same value that they once had, materials and supply chains are becoming increasingly fragile and the consumer base is dwindling. Global neoliberal capitalism has radically shifted consumption patterns, many young people in Japan are looking to low-cost products that have short life spans – not high-cost, intricately produced objects that are to be treasured for a lifetime. But crisis often expands the possibility of different approaches, policy initiatives are opening up the sector to a wider population, and it appears women are open to taking the challenge on. Apprenticeships are now less risky for women entering the profession, they are no longer required to live with their established masters, they no longer need to be handed a family business in order to learn skills, and there are governmental initiatives (such as the 2009 Arakawa Craft Training Programme) to ensure the survival of what is an important part of the district’s image and cultural heritage.

At present just 5 of the 55 people who are ‘bearers of traditional craft techniques’ in Arakawa are women, but without any feminist intervention 50% of apprentices of junior craftspeople are women – suggesting a shift in attitudes by and to women within the profession. And as these women enter the profession, the profession takes on new life. As Dr Geber-Mérida reminds us “the youngest voices are sometimes the strongest” and these young people are entering the profession with a commitment to preserve but adapt. The delicate craft skills remain the same, but the objects produced reflect the diverse personalities of the people that produced them. These young women are now making the objects they would want to buy, bringing the objects to new and broader audiences.

These women are now becoming recognised visionaries within the industry, using craft as a personal artistic medium, and challenging the boundaries of tradition by making the work more accessible. This alongside changes within the entry to the profession, looking beyond domestic market, coupled with a more inclusive pedagogy, indicates a profession departing from convention. Dr Geber-Mérida indicates then when incorporated with increased mentorship for women, care support and maternity leave, tax reductions for workshop rentals and increased access to gallery spaces, women could well thrive within the craft profession.

Ultimately though, Dr Geber-Mérida reminds us that recognition is crucial, without intervention the undocumented involvement of women will persist. In making invisible women visible, Dr Geber-Mérida presents us with our own opportunities to support their work. She encourages us to engage with makers on social media, sharing their work, to purchase directly from sellers when able, and to look out for traditional craft events (both in Japan and internationally). For those looking to learn more about these intricate works, Dr Geber-Mérida is curating a free upcoming exhibition in Norwich this September with all invited to engage.

A rich and fascinating talk, Dr Geber-Mérida presented the gendered dynamics of the craft profession with the same level of intricacy and delicacy as the craft makers themselves. Weaving a picture of women’s roles as historically invisible yet central to the profession but ending on a point of hope and action.