SPIRIT OF JAPAN Giving Hope to Breast Cancer Patients ~The Challenge of Japanese Craftsmen~
Episode Synopsis
ID: DC291835
Documentary
2018
26 MINS
EN
Tokoname City is located in the center of the Chita Peninsula West Coast in Aichi Prefecture. It is also home to the Chubu Centrair International Airport – the entrance to Japan’s central region. Tokoname is known for its traditional ceramics industry and rows of shops selling pottery and earthenware.
The Maeda Mold introduced in this episode is made by a small business that has been creating plaster molds for ceramic ware for over half a century.
Cheap foreign-made ceramics and other earthenware have driven many of Tokoname’s potters out of business; however, Maeda Mold has been seeking new avenues of revenue to keep the business alive.
One of these new ventures is artificial breasts made of silicon.
Driving this successful business are the skills of the artisans who create the pottery molds used by Maeda Mold. The company has taken the bold step of applying these techniques to create artificial breasts.
These artisans had a strong desire to utilize the traditional techniques of their craft to make breast cancer patients smile by creating artificial breasts. They hoped these women can enjoy soaking in a hot spring with their friends or taking a bath with their young children, which are common in Japan, and doing other everyday things that women with natural breasts can easily do. After a series of trial and error, the artisans have successfully created a completely natural looking breast.
Maeda Mold’s artificial breast business has developed into a key revenue source that currently accounts for about a quarter of all of its sales. This story illustrates the dedicated efforts of these Tokoname ware artisans, who have found a way to use the techniques that have supported the traditional ceramics industry to bring joy to breast cancer patients.
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