Featured At The 2012 International Home + Housewares Show: Unique Japanese Designs From Housewares To Lacquerware

Visitors to the Japan Pavilion at the International Home + Housewares Show (March 10-13 at Chicago's McCormick Place) will experience first-hand how Japanese design and craftsmanship can fit synergistically into Americans' kitchens, homes and lifestyles. Often combining centuries of tradition with today's needs for modernity and functionality, the Pavilion's ten participating companies will enlighten U.S. buyers with unique products new to this marketplace.

The Key Attributes of Japan's Tohoku Region Design

Japanese designs featured in the Pavilion represent styles and crafts that in many cases have evolved over centuries. The Tohoku Region especially has a rich history of 'detailed craftsmanship', an art form that has been mostly lost around the world due to the mass production of homegoods. Japan is famous for the world-renowned 'Mingei' movement, which celebrates Japanese folk craft and the beauty of everyday objects and stands for: hand-made in quantity by craftspeople; affordable; functional in daily life; and representative of the areas in which they were produced. Mingei is used in ceramics, lacquer and woodwork. The products on display in the Pavilion are also characterized by an elegant simplicity that fits perfectly into American homes decorated in minimalistic style, and for consumers who want to create a 'Zen' atmosphere of tranquility and serenity in their habitats. Each of the Pavilion's exhibitors embodies this authentic living philosophy through simplistic d�cor and the use of natural materials. According to JETRO representative Atsushi Semimoto, "World-renowned leaders of the Mingei movement always praised Tohoku's craftsmanship, and you can see the great handcrafting skills in all of our exhibitors' offerings and their respect for upholding tradition."

Creating Environmentally Responsible Designs

Adhering to ancient traditions of craftsmanship, Japan Pavilion exhibitors also embrace the environment by working with natural materials and processes. Because respect for nature, and a culture of preservation, is instilled in the Japanese people, each of the exhibitors can contribute to American consumers' increased awareness and desire for sustainable products that last a lifetime.

Tohoku also became a center for ironworks last century, and cast iron teapots are a well-known product in this category. Whether it is uncoated, iron-only cast-ironware for healthy cooking made from recyclable materials (Oigen Foundry Co. Ltd.), or furniture made from such stunning local woods as Kitayama cedar (Wired Beans Inc.), or modern art-inspired greeting cards utilizing the latest green technologies (Konno Printing Ltd.), Pavilion exhibitors personify craftsmanship and natural materials.

Two of the exhibitors (Joboji Urushi Workshop and BITOWA FROM AIZU) will introduce the American audience to the beauty of lacquerware. Dating back centuries, Joboji Urushi Workshop is the only company in Japan whose lacquerware - also known as Urushi, an adhesive made from the purified sap of the Urushi tree - is 100% made in Japan, from the materials to the finished product. In contrast, BITOWA FROM AIZU also has produced traditional lacquer crafts for some 400 years, and recently launched a new fusion brand, "BITOWA modern", of traditional lacquerware and modern craftsmanship.

Bringing Together Japan's Rich Culture, Detailed Craftsmanship and Innovative Modernity

Whether seeking vintage or contemporary, visitors to the Pavilion will find an incredible array of 'Made in Japan' homegoods whose designs successfully merge tradition, culture and modernity. According to JETRO spokesperson Atsushi Semimoto, "The desire for high-quality products appears to be a consistent