Wood and Cloth Dolls | Making a Kimekomi Tray

A one-of-a-kind kimekomi tray, made by combining fabrics of your choice

Choose your favorite fabrics from a range of colors and patterns, and arrange and inlay them using the kimekomi technique to finish a tray. Experience the traditional technique of neatly fitting fabric into place using a dedicated kimekomi knife. The finished tray can be used in everyday life as a place to keep a watch, accessories, and other treasured items.

Silverware | Traditional Technique: Making a Silver Bookmark

Hammer stroke by stroke: a one-of-a-kind silver bookmark and charm

Use the traditional “planishing” technique to hammer a silver sheet and create the base, then add your favorite patterns and stamped designs one strike at a time to finish the piece. Part of the appeal is getting to use the artisan’s own professional tools—hammers, anvils, mallets, and more. The finished piece can be used as a bookmark for a book, notebook, or goshuincho (temple stamp book), and also makes a meaningful gift or a charm to mark a milestone in life.

Silverware | Patterning a Silver Ice Cream Spoon

Stamp your own design with a chisel and hammer, on a silver piece all your own

Use a chisel and hammer to stamp your favorite patterns and letters or numbers, one strike at a time, onto a silverware piece. Experience for yourself the handwork of a silverware artisan, stamping patterns directly into metal. Thanks to silver’s high thermal conductivity, the silver ice cream spoon warms to the touch and makes it easy to scoop even hard ice cream—a genuinely practical piece.

Tokyo Hand-drawn Yuzen | Gold-line Finishing with the Tsutsugaki Technique

Create a gorgeous Yuzen card, finished with freely drawn gold lines

Choose a card with fabric already mounted on it, then squeeze gold paste from a piping tube (tsutsu) to freely decorate it with gold lines. Experience the “tsutsugaki” piping technique used in Tokyo Hand-drawn Yuzen, and enjoy finishing the piece with your own hands. The frame is not included.

Embroidery | Making a Fabric-Covered Button

Choose your favorite colors and patterns, and finish it stitch by stitch—a small embroidered accessory

Choose your favorite design, fabric, and silk thread, then embroider the fabric stretched on a wooden hoop one stitch at a time. Take your time experiencing the handwork of embroidery, where patterns are created with needle and thread, then finish the piece as a fabric-covered button. Enjoy it as an everyday accessory—as a hair tie or a decorated elastic band.

Scroll Mountings | Backing Workshop

Choose, apply, and add color: the Scroll Mountings backing experience

Choose a piece of fabric, then moisten washi paper and apply paste with a brush, joining the two together using “backing” (urauchi)—a traditional Scroll Mountings technique. This program lets you experience firsthand the handiwork unique to Scroll Mountings, finishing fabric so that it becomes both beautiful and durable. Enjoy your finished piece freely in all kinds of everyday settings—apply it to the lid of a box or the cover of a notebook you already own, display it on the wall as an interior accent, or use it as a special finishing material for your own handmade creations. The finished piece will be mailed to you at a later date.

* Finished pieces will be mailed at a later date.

Three-Stringed Musical Instrument | Making and Playing a Shamisen: Chintonshan

Build it, tune it, play it—make your own small shamisen, the “Chinton”

Assemble a small shamisen called the “Chinton” yourself, attach the strings, and experience tuning it. Once complete, try playing “Sakura Sakura.” Because it can be played using the same method as a regular shamisen, you can enjoy not only making it but also actually producing sound with it. When you’re not playing it, display it as an adorable piece of interior decor.

Woodblock Prints | Hand-printed Woodblock Printing and Japanese binding

Print, cut, and bind—make your own Japanese-bound notebook from a woodblock print

Use a baren to print a multicolor woodblock print, cut the finished sheet to cover size, and bind it into a Japanese-style notebook with needle and thread. This experience lets you enjoy traditional Japanese handwork in one sitting, from “printing” to “binding.” The finished notebook can be used every day for writing notes or sketches.

Tokyo Umbrella | Painting a Miniature Umbrella

Decorate with your favorite letters or pictures—a one-of-a-kind miniature umbrella

Using a miniature umbrella covered in white fabric as your canvas, freely paint your favorite letters or pictures with fabric pens and markers. Finish by choosing your favorite umbrella sleeve, and your own one-of-a-kind piece is complete. It makes an adorable good-luck charm to display at home, or a special, heartfelt gift.