A Study of Contemporary “Handiwork” Culture

Keywords

handiwork,gender,network

Objectives

This study examines the types of recreational and hobby-related professions that correspond to handicrafts to the Japanese, as well as the contemporary development of crafted objects stemming from these professions. The general idea of handicrafts was established in the Meiji Period as form of non-commercial, hobby-related production undertaken at home and predominantly by women. This concept led to the double marginalization of handicrafts, in contrast to a form of fine art with aesthetic value or industrial art that generates profits. Today is witnessing the emergence around the world of a diverse range of recreational and hobby-related professions that fall outside the conventional Japanese view of handicrafts. The movement also involves men and is entering into fine art and marketing, giving rise to different types of artwork, fair trade products, and ethnic goods. In addition, the development of new handicrafts has generated interest because of the different functions they serve, such as helping to connect people through recreational activities or providing a form of therapy following a disaster.
This study aims to define new areas of “handiwork” that are difficult to classify as conventional handicrafts. It also seeks to conduct an ethnographic assessment of the contemporary development of these “handiworks” to provide a new concept of the term.

Research Results

This study group met 13 times in total: twice in 2014, four times each in 2015 and 2016, and three times in 2017.
Two research panels were assembled to present the results associated with this study. One was the 48th South Asian Research Symposium on “Connections between people and resources — a perspective from South Asian handiwork ” (held at the Keihoku Yamaguni-no-ie center in Kyoto on July 25, 2015). As prepared by the research coordinator (Yoko Ueba), the plan for this event yielded suggestions and insights for the study of handiwork worldwide utilizing a comparison of the findings of this joint study group with examples of handiwork from South Asia. The other panel was an open symposium on “Handiwork and reconstruction ” (held at the Anthropological Institute of Nanzan University on January 24, 2016). Research collaborator Chie Miyawaki served as the planning coordinator for this symposium while the research coordinator (Yoko Ueba) served as commentator. This second symposium demonstrated the power of handiwork as a tool for the creation of community ties and the mutual sharing of handiwork techniques as a means of fostering mental health care in disaster-affected areas.
　
As a way of sharing the findings of this study with the general public, a series of 24 essays on the theme “Perspectives on handiwork ” were published in Minpaku Gekkan (“Minpaku Monthly”) from April 2016 to March 2018. This enabled us to broaden the discussion on issues concerned with novel molding processes, a field of modern handiwork that cannot be fully grasped with traditional concepts.
　
The discussions of this joint study group reaffirmed that different fields of study have nurtured a diversity of perspectives on handiwork. However, we felt that the main points at issue could be organized around six keywords (creation, decoration, earning, instruction, classification, and connection).
　
Using an approach that examines modern handiwork in terms of these six dimensions, we confirmed that the salient features of research on modern forms of recreational and hobby-oriented handiwork and their artifacts can be identified through a cross-cultural perspective.