What We Do
Revitalizing Traditional Japanese Crafts
for the 21st Century
Revitalizing Japan’s living craft heritage. JapanCraft21 accelerates impact through a series of Traditional Craft Revitalization Contests, each designed to catalyze one craft’s success in the 21st century. We identify exceptional creators with compelling ideas, proven skill, and passion—and equip them with funding, mentorship, and an ecosystem of support.
Our inaugural contest awards ¥5,000,000 (US$50,000) in targeted funding and hands-on mentorship from experts in business, design, product development, and marketing.
Japan’s craft culture—refined over centuries—faces rapid decline. Masterworks struggle to compete with low-skill imports; lacquerware sales fall; few young artisans replace retiring bamboo basket makers; and traditional wood joinery is rarely taught. The broader ecosystem—toolmakers, dye blenders, brush makers, stencil cutters—has also thinned.
We began by addressing wood joinery. Kyoto’s machiya townhouses have fallen from roughly 100,000 to about 40,000. In response, in 2019 we co-founded a training school that offers scholarships to working tradespeople. Our first cohort of six graduated as carpenters capable of building without nails. We now run courses in joinery, bamboo-and-mud wall construction for plasterers, and advanced Japanese garden building.
Join us. Japan’s crafts are a shared global treasure. Your support helps ensure these skills not only survive—but thrive—for generations to come.
An Introduction from Steve Beimel
Our Activities
Our programs result in numerous activities in the Japanese and English-speaking community in support of the arts.
Japan Traditional Craft Revitalization Contests are designed to revitalize traditional Japanese craft to flourish in the 21st century. Each contest selects 10 exceptional individuals with outstanding ideas, talent, track record and passion, and provides them with a package of support designed to move them forward in their craft revitalization-related projects.
We co-founded the School of Traditional Building Arts (Shin-Machiya Juku) in Kyoto. To meet the growing demand for high-quality traditional construction, our school teaches nearly forgotten skills and provides tradespeople with a direct path to mastery. Our intensive, year-long Sunday courses accommodate those in the early stages of their careers. JapanCraft21 provides full scholarships to all students. Our program is intended for individuals who plan to live in Japan and help revitalize traditional Japanese architectural techniques.
We at JapanCraft21 are committed to training young up-and-coming crafts people in such projects as our School for Traditional Building Arts, our apprentice training program and to educating the public about the value of fine Japanese Master Crafts through social media and our on-line mazagine. 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 on-line lectures for all of our members and quarterly events for our patrons.
Our research program aims to create a first-time ever, comprehensive, on-line database for all traditional crafts in Japan, many of which are unknown to the world.
Phase I: (Completed December 31, 2023) We researched all traditional crafts from northern Hokkaido to southern Okinawa and were able to create a list totalling about 1000 genres.
Phase II: (Scheduled Completion late 2025. 80% complete as of August, 2025) We are creating a site containing a photo, Japanese description, English description, and location map for each of the 1000 genres.
What You Can Do
We have opportunities beyond donating to help support the arts. Find out more here.
