Japan has a great number of items for daily use whose development reflects the country's history, environment and lifestyle.
 Meanwhile, because of the factors such as changing lifestyle and the development of new raw materials, crafts manufactured with traditional methods and materials are having hard times. Under the circumstances, METI enacted the above law in May 1974 with the objective of promoting the traditional crafts industry in order that traditional crafts bring richness and elegance to people's living and contribute to the development of local economy, consequently, the sound development of nation's economy.
　

Traditional Craft Products Designated by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

 The main requirements for a craft item to be designated as "Traditional Craft Product" under the above law are as follows.
  1. The article must be used mainly in everyday life.
  2. The article's main part of manufacturing process must be done by hand.
  3. The article must be manufactured using traditional techniques.
  4. The article's main materials must be the traditionally used ones.
  5. The article must form a production center in a certain region.
　　　* 'Traditional' here means having a history of at least 100 years.
　　　* 'Regional production' here means that there are at least 10 enterprises of 30 persons engaged in the region.
　

"Logo of Traditional Crafts"

List of Crafts
  Link
          Traditional Crafts of Japan

          Traditional Crafts of the KANSAI Region (PDF:9524KB)