In the New Traditional Project, people with lived experience of disability work in the traditional Japanese crafts industry and bring new perspective to the field. The traditional crafts have been made in various parts of Japan though, it has gradually declined its market because of the shortage of successors and the change of modern living styles. At the same time, there have been new movement that took place around many local areas to reconsider the core elements of handcrafting from various viewpoints, in which include material, environment, and sustainability. In response to the social background, the project started.

Collaboration is indispensable to create new things out of the ordinary.
When people in a different background encounter and get involved together in hands-on experience for handcrafting, they discuss the appropriate usages and choices of the tools, materials, and our environment issues in order to make things better. It is our expectation that the bud of “new traditional” things can be born during the cooperative creation process.

“What is it like to be new traditional?
“How are the spirit of craftmanship and our lives actually interacted?”
We would like to continue to engage in new practices throughout the New Traditional project, reflecting back these important questions.