Firms Incorporate Traditional Japanese Craft Techniques Into Construction Materials with Local Government Support

By Ikuko Mitsuda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

16:20 JST, May 11, 2025

OSAKA — Through various collaborative efforts, traditional Japanese crafts such as washi Japanese paper, textiles and urushi lacquer are being incorporated into modern construction as building or interior materials for houses and commercial facilities.

As part of these efforts, a new company has been established to develop and sell construction materials made using traditional craft techniques and a consortium of traditional dyeing and weaving companies, as well as local governments have jointly been developing a sales channel. Also, opportunities are being created for people to feel the comfortable textures and pleasant atmosphere created by traditional crafts.

Nara Prefecture-based Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten, which produces and sells traditional crafts and household goods, and Hotta Carpet Co., a wool carpet manufacturer in Osaka Prefecture, established a new company called Tactile Material Co. on March 1.

The new firm is working with seven manufacturers of traditional crafts to produce construction materials using traditional craft techniques. Materials such as wallpaper woven with cotton and other natural thread by Kojima Orimono Co., a textile company in Kyoto Prefecture, and urushi lacquer for painting produced by Shitsurindo in Fukui Prefecture are sold wholesale to housebuilders and construction companies.

The new company sells products that meet the fire safety and other standards under the Building Standards Law and the Fire Service Law, just like ordinary construction materials. The company will also develop new construction materials.

“There is a limit to what we can do to support the traditional crafts if we stick to household items,” said Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten’s President Aya Sengoku, 49. “We decided to expand our business into construction materials.”

In keeping with the word “tactile” in the company’s name, the company opened a hotel called Tactile House Osaka in Izumi, Osaka Prefecture, on March 9, where guests can experience the comfort of construction materials made with traditional craft techniques as well as how they feel.

One of the partner companies, Taki Washi Paper Inc., a paper manufacturer in Fukui Prefecture, hand made Echizen washi Japanese paper for shoji sliding doors, with wool mixed in during the production process to give it a unique feel.

Hideaki Taki, 46, a designated master of traditional crafts, said: “The hotel will provide an opportunity to have construction materials made with a large washi paper making technique widely known.”

“I want to convey the appeal of construction materials made with craft-making techniques that can make our lives more comfortable,” said Masaya Hotta, 46, president of both Hotta Carpet and Tactile Material. “I also want to invigorate traditional industries.”

Support from local governments

Some local governments are supporting the opening of sales channels for construction materials made with traditional crafts techniques.

In 2021, the Kyoto prefectural government established the Silk Textiles Global Promotion Consortium in cooperation with the associations of the Nishijin textile production area, Kyo-yuzen dyeing area and Tango textile production area in the prefecture. The consortium produced 600 copies of a fabric and textile catalog for architectural design offices and design companies.

The catalog includes samples of textiles such as a fabric made with a special Kyo-yuzen dyeing technique called hikizome and crepe-like Tango chirimen. The catalog also includes high-quality images reproducing the textures of the materials.

The catalog illustrates how materials from the production areas are used for paper for fusuma sliding doors, wallpaper and sofa upholstery. The consortium’s secretariat says that it has received inquiries from overseas.

“We want to develop the market by offering products that are safe and durable while making use of Kyoto’s dyeing and weaving techniques,” a consortium official said.

The Fukui prefectural government subsidizes newly built and renovated houses with wood produced in the prefecture using traditional craft techniques.

For example, up to ¥100,000 is provided to cover part of the cost of using Echizen rooftiles for roofs and Echizen washi paper produced for fusuma paper and wallpaper. In recent years, the prefectural government has received about 40 applications per year. From fiscal 2021 to 2023, the prefectural government also provided subsidies to accommodation facilities and restaurants in the prefecture.

The Fukui Phoenix Hotel in Fukui used Echizen washi paper for the ceiling and walls of a suite renovated in July 2023. The room number plate is made using Wakasa agate. A total of seven crafts created by designated masters of traditional crafts, including the paper and the agate, are used for the room.

In the lobby of the hotel, there are panels showing traditional crafts. “We have created a place where visitors can see and touch traditional Fukui Prefecture crafts up close,” a hotel employee said.