VISIT KANAZAWA, JAPAN - Official Travel Guide

Kogei, or artisanal crafts, have been a point of local pride in Kanazawa and Ishikawa for centuries: back in the day of the samurai, modern-day Ishikawa was ruled from Kanazawa by the wealthy Maeda family. Rather than using their considerable fortune for military or political goals, they opted instead to focus on building their feudal domain into a center of arts and crafts, inviting artisans from around the country to set up shop here, and encouraging and supporting various craft industries. For centuries, Kanazawa and Ishikawa have been known nationwide for a broad variety of hand-crafted items that run the gamut from practical everyday tools to opulent decorations.

KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2024 is this year’s installment of Japan’s only art fair focused specifically on these crafts, held in a city with a profound history of artistic excellence. The event is an art fair, but also much more: it aims to show off innovative new approaches to kogei crafts, and the value of these artistic techniques in the contemporary world. These artists breathe fresh, contemporary sensibilities into techniques that have centuries of history, making this a very exciting time for art lovers to be in Kanazawa. Much like the subject of the art fair, the event itself is also carefully assembled for maximum effect, taking place at one of the city’s leading hotels, with hundreds of works on display across multiple floors. 

There’s even more to experience outside the hotel, too:  various guided hands-on workshop visits are available for visitors interested in a deeper enjoyment of this celebration of art and crafts. These exclusive workshop visits feature an English-speaking interpreter-guide, to make it easier than ever to discover the cutting edge of art and crafts in Japan for yourself. Choose one or two that particularly interest you, or visit all of them to compare and contrast their work for an even deeper appreciation.

Terumasa Ikeda (Lacquer & Raden Inlay)

This up-and-coming artist has made a name for himself with his high-tech approach to traditional crafts, incorporating laser-cutting and CAD into his lacquering and raden mother-of-pearl inlay work to bring futuristic designs to life through centuries-old skills. This visit to his studio in Kanazawa offers a closer look at how his intricately detailed works are created, and a chance to see some of his past works, as well as to talk with him about his thoughts on his works and about crafts in general.

Akihiko Sugita (Lacquer)
Sugita uses the traditional techniques of Wajima Lacquerware, but with a distinctly clean, modern sensibility on display in his works, leading some of his lacquerware to be found in use at prestigious restaurants overseas. This visit to his charmingly old-fashioned lacquerware studio provides the opportunity to learn more about his handiwork and the tools involved in the process, as well as lacquer itself as a material.

Yuichi Nakata (Ceramics)
Nakata’s work is beloved for its rustic lack of artifice, with an approach to coloration and brushwork that blends and mingles both Japanese and Western sensibilities. These items are informed by Nakata’s unique perspective that the history of ceramics and personal experiences are interwoven, like a tapestry of an ongoing narrative still being told. His studio is located in a renovated machiya townhouse that was once a tatami mat shop, and visitors have the opportunity to encounter his philosophical worldview through both demonstrations of his work and conversations with him directly.

Hitoshi Maida (Yuzen Dyeing)
At the Maida Kaga Yuzen dyeing studio, Hitoshi Maida works alongside his father Kenji, serving as leaders who supervise every single step of the Kaga Yuzen dyeing process. This type of holistic view of every step of the process, from start to finish, is rarely seen with Kaga Yuzen, offering visitors a rare chance to see everything from drawing the initial design, to tracing outlines on the fabric in glue, to actually applying the pigments. Visitors can even try out some of these tasks for themselves. This particular workshop visit includes something extra, as well: a special dance performance, featuring a geisha wearing a kimono made with Kaga Yuzen dyed fabric.

Yoca Muta (Ceramics)
Yoca Muta’s Kutani Ware items are hand-shaped to create results that feel almost akin to paintings or ukiyo‑e prints expressed in three dimensions, leading her work to be exceptionally well received by collectors internationally. This visit brings guests to the new studio she established in 2023 in Nomi, to see her studio environment and how she works, alongside some of her past work, as well as to learn about her thoughts on crafts and art through interpreter-facilitated conversation.

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