AGA Corporation has opened 'Igarashi Rashaten,' a renovated traditional house built in the early Showa period.
Based on five core concepts - "Connect, Gather, Be Reborn, Pass on to the Future, and Pray" - this venue aims to bridge local culture and traditional crafts with the next generation, bringing fresh energy to Echizen's historic streetscape.
AGA Corporation has been actively involved in regional revitalization and promoting traditional crafts in their hometown of Echizen, Fukui. Through this work, they identified a pressing issue: many charming traditional houses in the region stand empty, with deterioration and lack of successors leading to their demolition or conversion into parking lots.
Driven by a desire to preserve the value of these disappearing traditional houses for future generations, they established the "Traditional House Project." The renovated "Igarashi Rashaten" represents a new cultural destination where traditional design meets contemporary sensibilities.
Discovering Craftsmanship and Living Culture in Historic Echizen
In the historic city of Echizen, this venue offers diverse content including fashion, crafts, art, and repair services. Guided by five key concepts, it serves as a space connecting regions and people, old and new.
01. Connect
Bringing together culture and people - Combining Japan's enduring cultural traditions like washi paper with calligraphy, pottery with flowers, expressing art and crafts together creates profound emotional experiences. The space connects old with new, region with region, realizing various connections.
02. Gather
A meeting place for diverse people - As people gradually become involved with the shop, gathering together to form new relationships. Local residents, craftspeople, those engaged in arts and culture, and travelers come together, fostering smiles and inspiration.
03. Be Reborn
Giving new life through remake - Tools and materials that have fulfilled their purpose are transformed and revitalized. Remakes connect to new uses and inheritance to the next generation. Traditional elements are brought to life in contemporary contexts and passed on to the future.
04. Pass on to the Future
Inheriting craftsmanship - Echizen has been home to traditional crafts passed down for nearly 1,500 years, preserved while adapting to the times. Creating masterpieces that fuse traditional techniques, challenging new forms of craftsmanship that transcend regional and national boundaries.
05. Pray
Cherishing faith in daily life - Centered around Sosha Daijingu shrine, seasonal festivals and annual events have been deeply rooted in people's lives. Valuing the spirit of prayer and protection for nature and culture, visitors can feel these sentiments during their stay.
The shop features clothing remade from kimono and traditional crafts as its main products.
Building on the clothing collection efforts of their existing vintage and remake business "Pastechi Doll," they also collect long-unused kimono that remain stored away. Feeling it would be wasteful to let beautiful patterns and high-quality fabrics go unused, they combine traditional kimono beauty with contemporary fashion, creating items that carry new value while connecting tradition to the next generation.
The shop also collects broken pottery and long-used ceramics, planning to restore them using kintsugi techniques and develop them as new artworks.
Through these initiatives, they aim to revitalize valuable items like clothing, kimono, and pottery without waste. "Igarashi Rashaten" serves as a space that brings out new charm and possibilities while utilizing existing materials, proposing diverse items to visitors.
The September 15th pre-opening coincided with a local festival, creating citywide excitement and attracting many visitors to the store.
