New Craft Leaders
from the fourth annual contest
2024 Ronnie Prize Winner:
Taichiro TAKAMATSU
Ronnie
Prize
Trophy
by Kan YASUDA
Our Contest Winners/
Craft Leaders
Katherine E. Monahan
Deputy Chief of Mission
New Craft Leaders
with DCM and Beimel
Steve Beimel
JC21 Founder
Alison Shapiro
JC21 Director
Orin Performance
by Kazuya NANJO,
Craft Leader
Craft Leaders
at Reception Dinner
You can see this video in What's New too.
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LIVE ONLINE PRESENTATION SCHEDULE
ZOOM presentations by Steve Beimel, JapanCraft21
Free-of-charge
The Timeless Kimono (new presentation)
Kimono are efficient and versatile garments for both men and women. Their straight cut of only eight pieces of fabric has remained nearly unchanged for the past 1000 years. Kimono are adaptable to any body shape and can be efficiently folded, stored, and maintained. Their simple T-shape has provided a blank canvas for hundreds of thousands of weaving and dyeing styles and designs for ten centuries.
US Time Zone
- North America West Coast: Wednesday, April 23, 5 pm
- North America East Coast: Wednesday, April 23, 8 pm
- Japan: Thursday, April 24, 9 am
Register
here.
European time Zone
- London: Sunday, April 27, 9 am
- Berlin & Paris: Sunday, April 27, 10 am
- Japan: Sunday, April 27, 5 pm
Register
here.
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LATEST PRESS COVERAGES
Taylor with Overseas Experience Wins Top Prize - The Japan News (Mar 29, 2025)
Taichiro Takamatsu, a tailor from Toyama, won the Ronnie Prize, the highest award i the 4th JapanTraditional Craft Revitalization Contest. Please read the whole article here.
Supporters Fighting to Preserve Traditional Japanese Craftsmanship; JapanCraft21 Trying to Keep Next Generation Going - The Japan News (Mar 29, 2025)
Please read the whole article here.
Updates on Suzu-yaki Communal Kiln Project - The Japan News (Nov 30, 2024)
Steve officially presented craftsman Takashi Shinohara with a certificate representing the $25,000 donation, collected from our members, to rebuild a traditional Suzy-yaki kiln, which had been destroyed by the January 1 Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
Please read The Japan News Article for more details.
Our Purpose
To revitalize traditional Japanese master crafts
(dentō kōgei
伝統工芸)
by identifying
issues faced by artisans and implementing solutions for the 21st Century.
JapanCraft21 was created to reverse the rapid decline of traditional Japanese crafts. In addition to helping to create a school of advanced traditional building skills, we have launched a series of Japan Traditional Craft Revitalization Contests, each designed to revive a traditional Japanese craft so that it flourishes in the 21st century. Learn More at What We Do.
Our Japan Traditional Craft Revitalization Contests search for exceptional project ideas from individuals with outstanding talent, track records and passion, and provide them with a broad and significant support package.
We co-founded the School of Traditional Building Arts in Kyoto to teach rapidly disappearing building skills. Our intensive yearlong courses are held on Sundays to accommodate young working trades people. We teach joinery to carpenters, bamboo mud-wall construction to plasterers, advanced courses in Japanese garden building & maintenance, and training in natural lacquer. JC21 provides full scholarships to all students.
apanCraft21 is committed to
educating young up-and-coming crafts people in such projects as our School for Traditional Building Arts, and to educating the public about the value of fine Japanese Master Crafts through social media and our online magazine
Japan Living Arts. Also, in order to maximize our effectiveness in achieving our craft revitalization vision, it is imperative that we educate both our staff and our membership. We accomplish this with regular online lectures for our members & private cultural events for our patrons.
The RONNIE Prize is awarded to the first place winner in our Japan Traditional Craft Revitalization Contests, and consists of 5 million yen ($50,000) in project funding for the winning project aiming to revitalize a craft for the 21st Century. The trophy given to each Ronnie Prize winner was created by renowned Japanese sculptor, Kan Yasuda. The work crafted from white statuary marble is entitled Tempi, meaning "mysteries of heaven."
We have opportunities beyond donating to help support the arts. Find out more here.
JapanCraft21 (JC21)
Ichihara-cho 163-7 Shizuichi,
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