Wajima Kobo Nagaya

Kawai-machi in Wajima City, Ishikawa, where Wajima Kobo Nagaya stands, has long been an area where Wajima-nuri artisans lived and where commerce — including the morning market — flourished. The great fire of 1910 caused major damage across the district, but the following year a nagaya was built on the site of a burned temple, becoming a lively place where many artisans and people connected to local industry lived.

As the times changed, however, residents dwindled and the buildings aged, and the nagaya gradually disappeared. Wajima Kobo Nagaya is a facility developed in 2003 on this very site where nagaya once stood in rows, out of a desire to once again bring back Wajima-nuri and the bustle of people.

In the building's "lacquer-arts workshop," in addition to Wajima tourist information and Wajima-nuri guidance, it accepts lacquerware repairs and offers making experiences in decorative techniques such as chinkin and maki-e. A feature of the "artisans' workshop" is that you can observe Wajima-nuri craftspeople actually at work, and their pieces, without a reservation.

The "Nigiwai Kobo (North & South)" shops carry a wide lineup, from Wajima-nuri bowls, plates, chopsticks and stacked boxes to casual pieces easy for everyday use. The gallery hosts exhibitions and special shows of lacquer artists' work, also functioning as an art space to drop into casually while strolling the town.

The chinkin experience and "My Chopsticks" making on the experience menu are popular with a wide range of people — families, school trips and group travel — and can accommodate from a few to several dozen participants. Through original works you can take home as travel mementos, it creates opportunities to become familiar with the techniques and textures of Wajima-nuri.

A hub where you can "see, experience and buy" Wajima-nuri

Wajima Kobo Nagaya is a complex where you can tour Wajima-nuri production sites, create original pieces through chinkin and maki-e experiences, and buy finished lacquerware on the spot. It lets you savor the appeal of Wajima-nuri in three dimensions during your trip.

A nagaya gathering a lacquer-arts workshop, artisans' workshop, Nigiwai Kobo and gallery

Inside the building stand the "lacquer-arts workshop" offering tourist information, experiences and repair reception; the "artisans' workshop" that opens craftspeople's workspaces to view; the lacquerware shops "Nigiwai Kobo (North & South)"; and a gallery exhibiting lacquer-art works. The layout lets you encounter Wajima-nuri of different characters at each workshop as you stroll through.

Make your own lacquerware with chinkin and maki-e experience menus

In the chinkin experience course you carve a pattern into a lacquered panel and apply gold powder; in the "My Chopsticks" course you decorate lacquered chopsticks with chinkin or maki-e to finish them. Taking from 20 minutes to two or three hours, these are recommended for making memories on family or group trips.

Supporting life and tourism with lacquerware repair and rental services

Besides advising on re-lacquering everyday lacquerware and repairing chips, it also runs a "lacquerware rental" service lending Wajima-nuri to lodgings and events. It works to root Wajima-nuri in daily life not only as "something special" but as "something to keep using."

A place carrying on the memory of a nagaya that survived a great fire

After the great fire of 1910, the nagaya (row house) built on the burned site was a lively quarter where many people lived, lacquerware artisans among them. After it was demolished due to age, Wajima Kobo Nagaya was built on that site in 2003 as a facility conveying its former vitality to the present.