Traditional Straw Craft Box Creation Activity (With Take-Home Memento)

Straw craft, called mugiwara zaiku in Japanese, is a unique, traditional handicraft with vibrant colors and intricate patterns that, in all of Japan, is only produced in Kinosaki Onsen.

*Note: the above straw craft ball is a product available for purchase.

Observe the fascinating and complex straw craft process. Make your own original straw craft design on a small box to keep as a lovely souvenir. While reading English instructions and observing the craftsman's hands you will get to trim, position, and glue delicate pieces of straw into a beautifully intricate patterned design.

Choose from an already-set design, or create your own free design like the boxes below.
Once your design is complete, the craftsman Mister Kamiya will place the final border on your box.

Afterwards, receive some strands of straw as a memento and create more straw craft designs at home!

It is said that in mid-Edo era (around 1720 AD), a craftsman named Hanhichi from the Inshuu area (what is now Tottori Prefecture) came to stay in Kinosaki Onsen. To make money to pay for his lodging expenses, Hanhichi sold bamboo flutes and spinning tops decorated with colored straw. After this, the straw craft was also used to decorate chests, boxes, and wooden prayer plaques. After the Meiji period (1868-1912 AD) began, famous artists visited Kinosaki and drew sketches for the straw craft’s designs, and thus straw craft gained popularity as an expensive, popular, and unparalleled handicraft. Today, the straw is flattened, dyed, and placed on small boxes, colored paper, spinning tops, and clay bells. Kinosaki Onsen is proud to be the only place in Japan which continues the traditional production of straw craft while preserving the original skills and techniques of the past.