Basic Plan Compiled for Wajima-nuri Facility, Will Serve as Center for Educating Young People on Traditional Lacquerware Creation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, August 22, 2025

A committee of representatives from the public and private sectors has compiled a basic plan for establishing a facility to train young people to carry on the tradition of Wajima-nuri lacquerware, as the Wajima area has been hit hard in recent years by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake and other disasters.

The plan was agreed to on Wednesday during a meeting of the committee in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture. The committee, which is called the “basic concept formulation committee,” is chaired by Masanori Aoyagi, the director of the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art.

The basic plan includes specific measures such as providing guidance on both specialized techniques used in making Wajima-nuri lacquerware and product development at the training facility, as well as promoting the charm of Wajima as a sacred site of lacquerware art and making efforts to expand overseas sales channels.

The facility is scheduled to open in fiscal 2028 or later. It is planned to be operated by a general incorporated association, and work to establish a basic design for it will start soon. Hard and soft promotional efforts will begin in earnest even before the facility opens: study sessions will be held to promote Wajima-nuri lacquerware overseas and opportunities will be created to develop enthusiasm among the people of Ishikawa Prefecture. The committee will be renamed the “basic concept implementation committee” and will continue to be involved in the development of the facility.

The formulation committee consists of 10 members, including local government representatives such as Ishikawa Gov. Hiroshi Hase and Wajima Mayor Shigeru Sakaguchi, as well as Toshikazu Yamaguchi, representative director of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings; Juichiro Konaka, president of The Hokkoku Shimbun; and representatives from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, the Cultural Affairs Agency and the Development Bank of Japan. They have held three rounds of discussions since April, transcending the boundaries between the public and private sectors.

“It will be significant to achieve the following three aspects simultaneously — traditional technique preservation, industrial promotion and cultural tourism. We will create new values that can only be realized in Wajima, a city with a long-standing tradition,” Hase said after the meeting, explaining the concept of the new facility.