The village of Otari, located between the Sea of Japan and the Northern Japanese Alps, can see accumulations of as much as 2 to 3 meters of snow during the peak of the winter season. These harsh environmental conditions make it nearly impossible for residents to work outdoors during the long, cold winters. As a result, since ancient times, the people of Otari have instead used this time to both pass on and sharpen their knowledge and skills in traditional craftsmanship. Some common local activities include crafting household items from straw and making traditional wooden snowshoes. Historically, the quality of craftsmanship displayed by local residents was known to have been particularly high, and those same techniques have been preserved, handed down and are still practiced here today.

However, in an age of machine-based mass production, where people value convenience above all, traditional, sustainable handmade products made from renewable materials are being overlooked in favor of cheaper, environmentally unfriendly items all too often. Furthermore, at the same time that the elders with the requisite knowledge and skills to produce traditional handiwork are slowly aging and passing away, the number of successors willing to carry on those traditions is also shrinking. It would be an unthinkable loss of culture to let them die out. With this in mind, Otari village is currently working hard to preserve these practices by holding workshops and training courses in various traditional disciplines, one of which is straw craft.

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Your teachers for this workshop will be the elderly local residents who have grown up in the village, crafting a variety of daily-use items from straw as a way of life during the cold and snowy winters. This is a great opportunity to engage in a traditional craft in a traditional setting and to help these wonderful men and women preserve and pass on an important part of village culture. It is also one of the most authentic and rewarding forms of cultural exchange we offer!