Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture: A City Steeped in Traditional Craft Rate

Overview

Noren, Japanese paper and woodblock print are the Japanese traditional art. We can see and enjoy all of them in Maniwa city in Okayama Prefecture. Stephen Hemsley, an English teacher from New Zealand, explores Maniwa and discovers the taste of these artworks. He meets a textile designer who makes noren for the stores and individual homes in town and she shows him the design of her latest noren, made for Japanese-style confectionary store. Also, he meets people who make Japanese paper, and a priest at a Buddhist temple who makes woodblock prints. Meanwhile, he finds a modern, 104-year-old elementary school and joins an interesting event, which is eating Japanese school lunch called kyushoku. He also eats local cuisine, which is especially made in autumn.