2024.06.27
Architecture, Gardens and ArtWeekly email newsletter “DENKEN-TEST PRESS” No. 13
We are pleased to present you with the 13th issue weekly email newsletter “DENKEN-TEST PRESS”
This issue focuses on Kagawa Prefecture's efforts to expand sales channels for traditional crafts and strengthen information dissemination.
“Warm-up Quiz” features answer and explanation from the previous quiz, as well as question from the fields of “Architecture, Gardens and Art”.
We are also running promotion to give away the official textbook (https://bookpub.jiji.com/book/b648563.html) to 100 people who sign up for the newsletter by the end of July! Please tell people around you to sign up for the newsletter.
table of contents
・ Crafts to serve as a catalyst for inbound tourism - Kagawa Prefecture expands sales channels in the Tokyo metropolitan area
・ “Warm-up Quiz” No. 13 (Architecture, Gardens and Art) = “Existing Castle Towers"
・News from the DENKEN-TEST Association
Crafts to serve as a catalyst for inbound tourismーKagawa Prefecture expands sales channels in the Tokyo metropolitan area
"Sanuki Kagari Temari" (sold at a shop in Haneda Airport)
Kagawa Prefecture is strengthening the expansion of sales channels and information dissemination in the Tokyo metropolitan area for local products, including traditional crafts. Kagawa Prefectural Products Promotion Organization (Takamatsu City), which is made up of prefectural officials, producers, distributors, etc., is working with a craft select shop at Haneda Airport (Ota Ward, Tokyo). They will actively promote products that are popular among inbound tourists, such as Sanuki Kagari Temari, Kagawa Lacquerware, and Marugame Uchiwa Fans.
◇ Strengthening efforts through public-private partnerships
“The biggest challenge is expanding sales channels," says Takuto Matsumoto, who is in charge of developing sales channels at Kagawa Promotion Organization. Kagawa Prefecture has designated 37 items as traditional crafts of the prefecture, including the nationally designated “Kagawa Lacquerware" and “Marugame Fans," but the environment surrounding the craftsmen is tough. In addition to the aging of the craftsmen and the lack of successors, the craftsmen are far from the capital region, which is a major consumer area, and are therefore not well known.
The prefecture established the organization in 2013 to combine public and private know-how and to expand sales channels and strengthen information dissemination. The council members and directors include people from the prefecture, agricultural and fishing organizations, the chamber of commerce, universities, and other organizations.
◇Inbound tourism is the catalyst
In light of the recovery of the Japanese economy from the COVID-19 pandemic and the weakening of the yen, collaboration with select shops in the Tokyo metropolitan area targeting inbound tourists is seen as a catalyst for expanding sales channels. The JAPAN MASTERY COLLECTION (JMC), which opened in December 2011 in Haneda Airport's Terminal 3, has a large selection of Kagawa Prefecture crafts.
According to the passenger terminal usage record of Haneda Airport published by Japan Airport Terminal Co., Ltd., the number of foreign passengers in fiscal year 2011 was about 10.37 million, a 3.4-fold increase from the previous fiscal year (about 3.07 million), and exceeded the level of fiscal year 2018 (about 8.23 million) before the COVID-19 pandemic. 95% of JMC shoppers are inbound tourists.
◇An increase in tourists is expected
Yoshie Nakamura of the Regional Revitalization Division of Haneda Future Research Institute (Ota Ward, Tokyo), which manages JMC, said of Sanuki Kagari Temari, which features patterns made from colorful silk threads, “It's very popular with foreigners. They seem to feel that it's gorgeous and Japanese." In fact, according to the Sanuki Kagari Temari Preservation Society (Takamatsu City), since JMC began selling it, the number of temari sold has doubled in the five months up to April compared to the same period last year.
Matsumoto smiled with satisfaction as he commented about his collaboration with JMC, “Many inbound tourists are wealthy. Thanks to the weak yen, craft sales are also good." He added, “I want to create a trend where foreigners who learn about Kagawa Prefecture and Takamatsu City through crafts will visit the prefecture and city on their next trip." He also has his eye on the Setouchi Triennale, which will be held on the islands of the Seto Inland Sea in Kagawa and Okayama prefectures in 2025, and hopes for a ripple effect on tourism.
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“Warm-up Quiz” No. 13 (Architecture, Gardens and Art) = “Existing Castle Tower"
ーQuestions will be categorized by genre from the official DENKEN-TEST textbook (scheduled for publication on September 1st)ー
The National Treasure Inuyama Castle: Japan's oldest surviving castle tower
Question: The Japan Castle Foundation awarded the castle the “100 Greatest Castles in Japan" in 2006.
[Previous Answer and Explanation]
Question:Kabuki “Actor Patterns" became hugely popular in the Edo period when Kabuki actors devised them by combining the crests and patterns of their respective theater names in order to promote themselves.
Answer: Misumonyo (Three Squares Pattern)
Commentary: The pattern, which depicts the shape of large, medium and small Masu nested inside one another as seen from above, is called the “Mimasu Pattern" and was used as the official crest by the first Ichikawa Danjuro, the founder of Aragoto (Rough Acting). Danjuro family's stage name, Narita-ya, is written as “Mimasu" and has been passed down for generations. At the time, Kabuki actors used it on hand towels and furoshiki wrapping cloths, and used it for advertising purposes such as gifts for name-taking ceremonies and presents to loyal fans. In addition to scattered “Mimasu," there are various other patterns, such as those combined with stripes and checks, and it is still used on yukata and hand towels today.
News from DENKEN-TEST Association
▼On June 23rd, at the symposium “Japanese Culture and Japanese Arts Discussion Group" (sponsored by the Association for Thinking about the History and Future of Okayama) held at the Tenjin 9 Noh Theater in Okayama City, Ichiro Aizawa, a member of the House of Representatives representing the 1st district of Okayama Prefecture, who served as the moderator of the talk session, introduced the “DENKEN-TEST" and encouraged attendees to take the certification exam. We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude. As chairperson of the Association of Legislators for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries, Representative Aizawa is extremely enthusiastic about promoting Japan's traditional culture and industry, and is a supporter of DENKEN-TEST.
▼An article about Japan Traditional Culture Testing Association 's email magazine “DENKEN-TEST PRESS” registration promotion was published on page 9 of the Kyoto Shimbun morning edition on June 19th. Among those who register by the end of July, 100 people will be chosen at random to receive the "DENKEN-TEST Official textbook" (scheduled to be published on September 1st). Of course, those who have already registered are also promotion for the campaign. We will send emails to the winners, so please look forward to it.
Official Textbook
https://bookpub.jiji.com/book/b648563.html
Editor's Note
We have brought you the 13th edition DENKEN-TEST PRESS. Whenever I go to Kagawa, I am drawn to the classic Sanuki Udon Noodles and chicken on the bone. A friend told me that Sanuki Udon Noodles made with the prefecture's “Sanuki no Yume" wheat are being sold overseas, with sales to Dubai starting this year. By the way, when Sakai, the chairman of DENKEN-TEST Association, was in his 20s, he was assigned to the Takamatsu branch of Jiji Press as a journalist. After reading the articles in this issue, he was full of regret, saying, "At that time, I had almost no interest in traditional culture, and I regret missing the opportunity to experience Kagawa's precious crafts."