Organised by Dr. Clara Momoko Geber-Mérida

About the workshop

On mainland Japan, craftswomen represent a minority, as only sixteen percent of the registered craftspeople are women. The reason for the low number is twofold – on one hand, craft workshops were usually managed by families and passed on to the eldest son. Leaning on this tradition, many craftspeople refused to take any women apprentices for decades. On the other hand, many women family members were and still are working in the background of craft workshops, working as craftspeople in all but name. Their situation is, however, slowly changing, as there is a need for women to step up and to take over the businesses. Indeed, many craft masters are struggling to find suitable successors, which is slowly increasing the number of craftswomen across various disciplines. This workshop brings leading national and international scholars across disciplines together to explore the roles of women in the contemporary craft industry, both in the background and in the foreground of the craft workshops. By discussing objects, governmental policies, and different techniques across craft disciplines, this workshop will make inequalities visible and lead to a broader discussion on how to support women in this industry.

Related event: Making Tokyo’s Craftswomen Visible: Traditional Techniques in Motion – Photography Exhibition 1-13 September 2026

This workshop is generously supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.