Nambu ironware (called nambu tekki in Japanese) is a form of metalwork produced in the city of Morioka in Iwate prefecture. It is a traditional handicraft that was first created in the middle of the Edo period (1603-1868). The name Nambu ironware …

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Yamagata cast iron (called Yamagata imono in Japanese) is produced in the city of Yamagata, Yamagata prefecture. At first, metal fittings, Buddhist statues, and daily use items were made. Then, as skills and techniques were developed, iron kettles…

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Oitama tsumugi is a silk fabric produced in the Yonezawa, Hakutaka and Nagai regions of Oitama in southern Yamagata prefecture. The area was well-known for producing and exporting ramie, a tall plant of the nettle family that has been used to make…

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Nibutani-attoushi is a bark fiber fabric produced in the region surrounding the Biratori-cho, Saru Ward, Hokkaido. The term Nibutani originated from miputai which is an Ainu (indigenous people of north Japan) word for a place with thick vegetation…

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Uetsu Shinafu is a textile produced in the area of Sekikawa, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, and Sanpoku, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture. The neighboring prefectures of Yamagata (Uzen) and Niigata (Echigo) are combined and referred to as Ue…

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Oku-Aizu Showa Karamushi Textiles (Oku-Aizu Karamushi Ori in Japanese) are a textile fabric produced in Showa Village of Ohnuma, Fukushima Prefecture. It is made from ramie, which is an urticaceous plant also known as China grass. Fine hemp cloth …

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