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What is "Traditional Craft Products"? - Bits of knowledge
Mataro dolls and "Traditional Craft Products"
Have you realized that some of our dolls have the sign on the left? This is the "Logo of Traditional Crafts". Only the craft items designated by METI (Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) as "Traditional Craft Product" can label this logo. Mataro dolls are one of them.
What is "Traditional Craft Products"?
The main requirements for a craft item to be designated as "Traditional Craft Product" under the above law are as follows.
- The article must be used mainly in everyday life.
- The article's main part of manufacturing process must be done by hand.
- The article must be manufactured using traditional techniques.
- The article's main materials must be the traditionally used ones.
- The article must form a production center in a certain region.
* 'Traditional' here means having a history of at least 100 years.
* 'Regional production' here means that there are at least 10 enterprises of 30 persons engaged in the region.(Quoted from METI KANSAI)
What is traditional craftsman?
Traditional crafts are mainly made by hand and it requires high-quality techniques.
It takes long years to acquire the techniques.
Since 1975, the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries has been implementing the certification examination of traditional craftsman to authorize those who have superb techniques. Kanabayashi Mataro, the doll maker of Mataro doll has certificated as a traditional craftsman in 1978.
Go to the biography of Kanabayashi Mataro
"Logo of Traditional Crafts" and certificate
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Yusaku Kamekura, known as the designer of Tokyo Olympic games official posters, designed this logo. All the dolls of Mataro are designed by Kanabayashi Mataro, and made by hands of our doll makers. And of which, the products that made with traditional methods and materials are designated as the traditional crafts. |
The national traditional crafts
There are more than 200 kinds of traditional crafts in the whole country. Mataro dolls (Edo Kimekomi dolls) are designated in 1978.
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