Aya The Handmade Town
Part of the culture of the evergreen forest is hand-made arts and crafts. The artisans at the approximately 40 art studios in Aya work in pottery, woodwork, dyes, and other crafts.
Everything is made by hand with care and attention. The Arts and Crafts Community Council was founded in 1980 to help foster communication between the artisans and the consumer. It also works for the display and sales of Aya crafts throughout Japan and organizes the Arts and Crafts Festival, held in late November each year.
NOTE:An introduction on this page does NOT mean that these artisans speak foreign languages, although some do.

Glassware & Pottery
Glass produced in Aya is art, a blend of Western and Japanese styles. It symbolizes with beauty both the Japanese climate and Japanese nature. Aya, with its ancient forests, continues to inspire these artists.

Glass Art Miyazaki at Aya

77-2311
inside Shusen no Mori

If your lucky you will be able to watch famous artisan Kuniaki Kuroki apply his skill.

The Aya pottery, similar to the Koishibaru school of pottery, is characterized by soft earthen tones and country colors. It is made by five potters on the banks of the Aya Minami (south) River.

Weaving
Artisans taught in the traditional way to weave a variety of silk products making full use of ample natural resources in Aya's forests and rivers. The spinning, weaving, and dyeing (with natural plant and tree dyes) are all done by hand. Tapestries, kimonos, neckties, and cocoon dolls are some of the numerous products available.

Aya's Woodworks
Aya is home to a wide variety of wood craftsmen. Everywhere in the town many utensils are crafted by the townspeople with their hands and their hearts. Boards for Go, Japanese Chess, are made from the rich resources of Aya's woods (called meiboku) and are well known throughout the country.

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