Iron camping pegs appear to be lying on the table: long and black with a heavily textured surface and pointed tips, they are fastened in pairs at the top with a piece of neon elastic that would not look out of place on a tent. Closer inspection reveals, however, that they are not pegs: fashioned from lacquerware rather than metal, they are light to hold and were in fact created for eating Japanese food while camping outdoors. Yes, they are chopsticks.

It’s not every day that the generations-old techniques of Japan’s rich craftsmanship heritage overlap with the very 21^st century world of outdoor camping – yet this is precisely the goal of artisan933, a new brand that aims to close the divide between the two and revolutionise the use of crafted products in contemporary times. The name of the brand offers a clue into its origins: 933 is the post code of Takaoka, a city in Toyama Prefecture that has long been famed in Japan for centuries as a Hokuriku region hub for craftsmanship, in particular metalwork and lacquerware.

Today, the coastal city – conveniently located on the Hokuriku shinkansen bullet train line – has attractions ranging from castle ruins and springtime tulip fields to one of Japan’s most famous Buddha statues looming tall in bronze.

Yet it is craftsmanship and industry that lie at the core of Takaoka’s identity, with signs of its artisan heritage across the city – as reflected in its historic former merchant and craftsman districts, lined with traditional low-rise tiled roofs and lattice wood facades.

The city is home to countless acclaimed makers, from Nousaku, the 1916 company behind crafted metalworks such as Buddhist altars alongside minimal modern wind chimes; to the 19th century brass casting company Futagami, now enjoying a modern lease of life with its sleekly-designed contemporary lamps, cutlery and other home accessories.

Plus Lacquerware Kunimoto, something of a mecca for modern crafts lovers, located on Yamachosuji, the city’s former main street, which once led all the way to Kyoto. Kotaro Kunimoto, the laid-back fourth generation owner of the century-old shop – which plans, manufactures and retails products by local artisans – is something of a crafts rockstar in Takaoka.

Photo by Nik van der Giesen

Not only does he showcase curated selections of contemporary Takaoka crafts – independent brands as well as bespoke commissioned products and design collaborations – he also juggles a raft of projects that aim to cast the city’s modern crafts scene into the global spotlight, including a buzzy craft festivals featuring young shokunin artisans.

As snow falls outside his shop one recent winter morning, Kunimoto – low-key in his blue fleece, facemask and khaki apron plus a small, modern rainbow-bright lacquerware badge – explains: “Our generation needs to change the way that we sell products and create new products that can be used in daily life, using traditional techniques.”

Takaoka is no stranger to entrepreneurial innovation. It is well documented that 400 years ago, the future fate of the region was defined by someone whose name appears to be on everyone’s lips in the context of regional crafts: Lord Maeda.

It was in 1609 that Toshinaga Maeda, the second head of the Maeda family – who ruled what was then called the Kaga Domain – ordered the construction of Takaoka Castle and surrounding town in 1609, summoning seven metal casting experts to the area to complete the feat.

Following his death five years later, his samurai son Toshitsune Maeda took over at the helm, before a change in laws limiting the number of castles per region to just one stalled the castle project. However, Maeda took steps to prevent the loss of Takaoka’s artisans by preventing citizens from moving away and introduced a range of policies designed to help it evolve into a centre of commerce and culture.

His policies lay the foundation for Takaoka’s subsequent growth into a prosperous hub of merchants and artisans, with the metal casting industry in particular booming in the region, fuelled by sales of Buddhist items, copper statues and tea tools.

As the economy boomed, by 1990, Takaoka’s copperware and ironware industry reportedly peaked in value with 37.45 billion yen of annual sales – before the bubble economy burst and by 2012, the industry dropped to a third of its former value at 12 billion yen.

It was in the troubled times of the post-bubble era two decades ago that Kunimoto returned to Takaoka following ten years working as a mechanic for a motorbike company across Japan and Australia – and took over the family business.

Photo by Nik van der Giesen

“My great-great-grandfather was originally from the Himi area of Toyama Prefecture but moved to Takaoka city to make a living,” explains Kunimoto, sipping coffee in the vast double-height wooden kura space that surprisingly reveals itself in the rear of the shop. “He started producing and selling laquerware products and working with craftsmen.

Photo by Nik van der Giesen

“The business went very well until my father’s generation, when the bubble economy burst and the situation changed. This is when I came back to Takaoka. I wondered about closing the store – but then I thought about all the artisans and craftsmen in the Takaoka region and decided to try to run the business. My desire from the start was to keep the crafts industry alive and help it survive, for future generations.”

A stroll around the store seems to provide proof that his hopes are being realised. Among countless examples of traditional craftsmanship fused with modern lifestyle values are lacquerware iPhone covers, delicately decorated by specialist raden artisans, with inlaid motifs of extra thin shell. Earrings, small and sculptural with geometric motifs, have also been crafted using the same raden technique, with the paper fine shell measuring less than 0.1mm thick.

Nearby are the contemporary cubic lines of glass nihonshu sake cups – a modern take on the traditional wooden masu – with deep glimpses of reflective red from a minimal coat of lacquerware on the base, created in collaboration with designer Yosuke Nakamura.

All the region’s big name producers who have diversified into contemporary design are also correct and present – from Nousaku’s minimal and slender single-stem Sorori flower vases in gradated metal shades; to the geometric brass circular pot stands by Futagami, a company increasingly acclaimed for its modern lifestyle goods designed by Oji Masanori.

Kunimoto’s face lights up as he talks about another passion of his: camping. Testimony to this is his role as co-founder of the new brand artisan933, which embodies a sleek collision of Takaoka’s craftsmanship heritage with a contemporary outdoor lifestyle.

The brand, launched last year, includes a string of products designed for camping, created in collaboration with local crafts companies, with plans also underway to open a new campsite nearby in May.

Its products include lightweight range of brass cups, in four shades crafted by momentum factory Orii; a heavy cast iron Dutch oven with the artisan933 motif on the lid; and, of course, the chopsticks designed to resemble tent pegs, playfully dubbed Peg O’Hashi.

“It’s a combination of camping products and traditional craftsmanship,” explains Kunimoto, highlighting the necessity of contemporary diversification in order for many crafts to survive.

“Nowadays, it’s important to respond to the demands of the clients and adjust to what they need in terms of modern lifestyles. What is important is to collaborate in new areas – fishing, cameras, camping – in order to create products that are relevant to younger generations.”

It is no doubt a delicate balancing act, straddling the traditions-steeped world of Takaoka’s craftsmanship heritage with contemporary innovations. Today, Takaoka continues to produce 90 per cent of Japan’s bronzeware although as in many places across Japan, artisan populations are declining.

“There are only around 30 artisans specialising in lacquerware today and their average age is probably 60,” adds Kunimoto. “There are about 1000 people working with copper, perhaps mainly in their fifties and sixties.”

Festivals – both traditional and futuristic – are one channel through which Takaoka appears to be securing its place in the modern-day crafts world. The city has long been famed for its epic Mikurumayama Matsuri festival, a UNESCO intangible heritage event held every May, which dates back to Takaoka’s 17^th century origins.

During the festival, seven exquisitely crafted Mikurumayama floats are paraded through the streets, with a dizzyingly ornate display of the region’s deep craftsmanship skills, from metalwork and lacquerware to dyeing.

On a more contemporary note, Kunimoto is behind another highlight of Takaoka’s calendar: the annual Takaoka Craft Ichiba-machi Festival, launched 11 years ago, which attracts more than 20,000 visitors every autumn (it switched to an online event last year due to the pandemic).

More than 70 local businesses are involved in the festival, with visitors able to enjoy studio visits, factory tours, pop-up events, hands-on workshops and local food as part of a packed schedule of entertaining events. One particular highlight? A rap concert held in a factory, inspired by the lively refrain “Our rivals are our ancestors!”

“It’s quite simple,” smiles Kunimoto. “We want both the sellers and the craftsmen to attract a new generation of customers. But most importantly, we want people to both experience and enjoy Takaoka’s crafts themselves.”