The Unsung Experts of Japan
Living Links to the Past
The visitor to Japan is charmed by traditional objects that bring back images of an age gone by. Who keeps alive the craftsmanship necessary to bring these exquisite objects into being? This delightful series provides the answer.

･CTV

･27 min.

･M/E, English & Spanish Version

Japanese urushi lacquerware is justifiably famous worldwide for its exquisite finish. This program shows every step in the lacquerware process from the painstaking collection of drops of sap from lacquer trees in the hills, to the laborious processing of the sap into lacquer and the creation of the lacquerware itself. With many turning to cheap, imported lacquers, 70 year-old Shoji iwadate and his son Takashi may be among the last craftsmen to practice this traditional art.