Japanese handcraft exhibition, Sfera, Kyoto

Ryuji Mitani is a bit of a local handcraft hero in Japan. He set up his own workshop in Matsumoto in 1981 called Persona Studio, specialising in wooden tableware, working with local craftsmen to try and keep traditional handcraft skills alive.
Soon after, he set up the Matsumoto craft fair, with a similar goal in mind to spread and promote handcraft – a small stone against the flood of mass manufacturing increasingly dominating Japanese design.
See more of Mitani's handcrafted designs
His latest venture is a book, ‘Handcraft in Distant Towns’ celebrating all that’s handmade in three Japanese cities (Fukui, Kyoto and Matsumoto) and Sfera in celebration of the book’s release are hosting an exhibition of the things featured.
Mitani scoured the three cities to source the finest ateliers he could find, settling on ten different craftsmen each working with traditional Japanese techniques, including paper, ceramics, wood, metal and lacquer.
With Japanese mass manufacturing being one of the most fast-developing and successful territories around, it’s all too easy to forget about traditional design heritages and move on to what’s happening in the future. It’s against this backdrop that Mitani’s work is so important, not only for keeping traditional craft alive and in the public eye, but for showing where it all began and how it has its own place in the contemporary design world too.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Fouquet’s New York: a lush, urban cocoon for the 21st century
Set in the heart of Tribeca, Fouquet’s New York balances French-inspired refinement and cosiness
-
The 2025 Obel Award is scooped not by an architect or building, but by a movement
HouseEurope! has won the 2025 Obel Award; the non-profit organisation has been advocating for ecological and social transformation in the built environment
-
What the Wallpaper* editors are looking forward to at Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2026
As Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2026 begins in Florence today, the Wallpaper* style team select the moments they will be looking out for – from Jonathan Anderson’s anticipated Dior debut to outings from Wales Bonner, Kiko Kostadinov and Prada
-
Designart Tokyo transforms the city into a museum of creativity
Designart Tokyo presents global design highlights through a series of exhibitions involving global creative talent and traditional Japanese craft
-
Celebrating the beauty of Japanese carpentry tools
Now on show at New York's Japan Society, ‘When Practice Becomes Form: Carpentry Tools from Japan' presents an overview of the techniques at the heart of Japanese wooden craftsmanship
-
Designart Tokyo transforms the city into a living, multi-sensory museum
The third edition of the fair (18-27 October) showcases over 100 exhibitions across the Japanese capital
-
London designer Max Lamb takes a shine to the Japanese art of lacquerware
-
How Tokyo’s creative universe is evolving at Designart’s second edition
-
In the frame: standout designs from around the globe
-
Nendo’s minimalist homeware hacks connect human and object at Salone del Mobile
-
Isamu Noguchi and Robert Stadler share a fascinating kinship, despite having never met