Our journey through Tohoku crafts, which began in early November, began at Mori Shigehachi Shoten in Tsuruoka.We’ve been to this store once before, and it had a lot of old and interesting miscellaneous goods, but this time it was a little organized. However, We ware able to obtain a Tohoku backpack(BANDORI). It’s really beautiful.

Next, We went to Yoita to buy cutlery, but no shops were open. Last timeWe were there, it was a shuttered town, but We found a good saw at a MICHINO_EKI. This time, the It was also closed.

Nexr, We stopped by Yoshida File Shop in Tsubame City, where the file for my nail sharpener was made, and we talked about various things. Thank you for giving us a demonstration at your factory.　Thank you again for your production.

The next day, as introduced in Tohoku Crafts Trip (1), we made Magewappa with Swedish teachers in Odate.。

The next day, we went to Morioka, where we parted ways and spent some time relaxing, visiting craft shops, museums, and Kogen-sha Shrine, which is associated with Kenji Miyazawa.

The next day, I took a long-awaited trip to Tono. The mountain range and rows of houses were just as the name suggests from the village of Tono Monogatari, and it felt like something was about to come out. At the Monogatari Hall, the story told by the storyteller was interesting, and we toured the museum, roadside station, folklore museum, and searched for old carpenter’s tools on Carpenter Street, but there were no tool shops anymore. I’m sorry. I heard that Tono is also famous for Genghis Khan, so I was satisfied with the Genghis Khan for lunch. After that, I went down from Tono to Oshu, looked at ironware at the foundry company OIGENN, and stayed the night in Ichinoseki.

I wanted to see things like Chusonji Temple, but in the end I went all the way back to Niigata, saw the museum, and then headed to Itoigawa the next day.

In Itoigawa, I just learned that a “Kezuro-kai” is being held. In the comments I often receive on my YouTube channel, the topic of the Kezuro-kai comes up. Up until now, I had no interest in competitions, when I went there, I saw not only the competition, but also the whetstone shops and cutlery shops from all over the country, including 3 from Yoita. I had fun and was inspired.

WeWe ended 2023 with a trip to Tohoku, but now that the coronavirus pandemic is over, We would like to gradually expand our craft journey to various places.