Yunokuni no mori, Traditional crafts theme park in Komatsu, Japan
Yunokuni no Mori is a Japanese crafts theme park spread across a forested area near Awazu Onsen, featuring traditional houses that serve as working workshops and exhibition spaces. The site showcases several regional handicraft techniques including ceramic painting, gold leaf work, silk printing, and handmade paper production.
The park was established to preserve traditional handicraft techniques from the Hokuriku region, particularly lacquerware production methods that have been practiced for centuries. These time-honored skills were integrated into a public space where they continue to be taught and demonstrated to visitors.
Artisans work in traditional houses throughout the grounds, demonstrating ceramics painting, gold leaf techniques, and silk printing as living crafts rather than museum pieces. The park shows how these practices remain part of the region's daily creative life.
The park is set within forest grounds, so comfortable walking shoes are helpful for moving between the scattered houses and workshops. Visit during daytime hours when all the artisans are present and working at their crafts.
Visitors can decorate a personal item with gold leaf sheets of extraordinary thinness, requiring steady hands and patience to apply them without tearing. The experience reveals the level of precision that traditional gold leaf work demands.
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