JAPAN MADE and Kyoto's Kojima Shoten Lantern Workshop Host Experiential Event "Awai" in Shibuya on December 13-14

JAPAN MADE, operated by Hyakuhachi Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Jun Hatakeyama), will host an experiential event "Awai - あわい -" on December 13 (Sat) and 14 (Sun), 2025, in collaboration with Kojima Shoten, a long-established lantern workshop in Kyoto.

This exhibition, themed "Reading JAPAN MADE with the Five Senses," reinterprets the spirit and beauty inherent in Japanese craftsmanship through a contemporary lens, offering a new form of exhibition where visitors can experience the value of Japanese craftsmanship firsthand. For this memorable first edition, Kojima Shoten, established in 1789, presents the skills and craftsmanship inherited through generations of Kyoto lantern-making, delivered through photographs, videos, writings, and hands-on experiences.

Background

Since its inception in 2016, JAPAN MADE has continued its activities with artisans and workshops across Japan under the vision of "making Japanese craftsmanship sustainable." Through this process, challenges have emerged regarding sustaining craftsmanship—including lack of successors, depletion of raw materials and tools, and shrinking sales channels.

Until now, JAPAN MADE has delivered "opportunities for awareness" through media. The next phase aims to create "opportunities for experience" beyond awareness. The first event to realize this vision is the exhibition "Awai - あわい -".

What we define as "awai" (the space between) refers to the subtle fluctuations and gaps born between materials and techniques, people and nature, tradition and modernity. For this event, we welcome Kojima Shoten, a long-established lantern workshop in Kyoto, to present the beauty of craftsmanship and the transmission of techniques spanning over 200 years through light and shadow, sound, and tactile sensations from multiple perspectives.

Event Overview

Location: SLOTH JINNAN, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (Google Maps)
URL: https://sloth.salon/

Dates: December 13 (Sat) to December 14 (Sun), 2025
※ A reception party will be held on the 13th from 7:00 PM
Hours: December 13 (Sat) 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM
December 14 (Sun) 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM

※ Free admission

Workshop Programs

The exhibition offers two types of workshops led by artisans from Kojima Shoten. Both provide opportunities to experience a part of Kyoto lantern-making that has been passed down for over 200 years through actual hands-on work.

Reserve here

※ Images are for illustrative purposes.

Workshop 1: Washi Paper Application Workshop

Experience the process of a lantern taking shape as washi paper is attached to bamboo frames. Learn the delicate process of applying glue to split bamboo and layering sheets one by one, working alongside artisans.

Fee: 45,000 yen (tax included)
Session times: Day 1: 1:00 PM, 5:00 PM (2 sessions, limited to 5 participants each)
Day 2: 11:00 AM, 4:00 PM (2 sessions, limited to 5 participants each)

※ Tabletop lanterns that can be plugged into standard household outlets will be provided.

Reserve here

Workshop 2: Lantern Painting Workshop

Under the guidance of artisans, freely paint designs on completed lanterns. Experience the delicate expressions created by variations in breath and brush pressure while drawing characters or patterns with a calligraphy brush. Create and take home your own unique lantern.

Fee: 12,000 yen (tax included)
Session times: Day 1: 3:30 PM, 5:30 PM (2 sessions, limited to 6 participants each)
Day 2: 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM (2 sessions, limited to 6 participants each)

※ Small lanterns approximately 12cm in diameter and 20cm in height will be provided.

Reserve here

These are two special days where you can create your own unique lantern while receiving guidance from artisans who have refined their techniques over generations.

In addition to workshops, the exhibition features custom order sales and experiential displays where visitors can learn about the lantern-making process through photographs, videos, and text. Feel free to visit.

About Kojima Shoten

Founded in 1789 during the Edo period's Kansei era, this long-established lantern workshop was born in Kyoto. Since then, they have continued to protect the "jibari-shiki" (surface-pasting) manufacturing method, performing all processes from bamboo splitting to frame construction and paper pasting entirely by hand. By tying individual bamboo ribs into rings with hemp thread, they achieve both strength and soft texture. These robust and sturdy "Kyoto lanterns" symbolize artisan techniques passed down through the ages.

Based on traditional techniques inherited from the Edo period, they explore new relationships between materials, forms, and spaces with lanterns, creating contemporary landscapes of light.

○ Kojima Shoten (https://www.instagram.com/kojima_shoten/)

About JAPAN MADE

JAPAN MADE is a project that aims to make Japanese craftsmanship sustainable under the concept of "Kyosoku" (coexistence/breathing together). We believe that Japanese craftsmanship is a culture born from the dialogue and coexistence between Japan's blessed natural environment and the human techniques and spirit cultivated and inherited within it.