Cheap plastic umbrellas are all too easily used and thrown away in Japan. And since they're difficult to break down, recycling efforts have stalled. But young creator Saito Aki has an original idea that may be the solution. By compressing layers of plastic from old umbrellas she's created a beautiful new fabric and turned it into a hit line of fashionable handbags. Just to look, you'd never guess where it came from. The perfect blend of style and environmental-awareness-raising substance.
Overview
Meet people around Japan who strive for a life without waste under the traditional philosophy of "MOTTAINAI," which values cherishing the things we have.
Episodes
S01E01 Kintsugi: Giving New Life to Broken Vessels
June 4, 2021 15 min
Using lacquer to reassemble broken vessels by pasting shards together and coating with gold or silver powder, a technique known as kintsugi. In Western cultures, repairs aim to return a piece to its original state....
Asakusa, Tokyo, is home to many shrines and temples. Visitors often buy "omikuji," which are small pieces of paper with fortunes written on them. Normally burned for disposal, washi paper artisan Shinoda Kaho came up...
After leaving his math teaching job Suzuki Yuichi became a doctor, but he has no license. The surgeries he performs require a drill or a screwdriver not a scalpel, and his patients aren't humans but...
Cheap plastic umbrellas are all too easily used and thrown away in Japan. And since they're difficult to break down, recycling efforts have stalled. But young creator Saito Aki has an original idea that may...
Azuno Tadafumi runs a rather unconventional retail space. It doesn't just carry used tools or furniture, but also salvaged lumber. Many Japanese country houses go vacant. These derelict homes are regularly torn down. When he...
Komuro Maito has a studio in downtown Tokyo where he works with traditional plant-based dyes. His dyes are made from things that would normally be discarded like fruit skins or pruned twigs. But the results...
Japanese chef Kai Kosei offers dishes featuring "Zako," fish with little or no market value. Either because they're too small or aren't commonly eaten, they're mostly discarded. In response, Kai's restaurant celebrates their deliciousness, serving...
For over 40 years Tsukamoto Yoshifusa has used scrap wood from old Japanese houses to make violins. Carefully carving the front and back plates using self-taught techniques, each one takes nearly a year to complete....
Flowers accompany life's most important moments. But there's a sadness to picked flowers. They color our lives and are all too quickly discarded. Kawashima Haruka makes the most of them, drying discarded flowers for a...
Nakahara Keiko lives at the foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains in central Japan. She dyes fabric using nearby plants and makes reusable food wrappers with wax from local honeybees. Her commitment to an eco-friendly lifestyle...
Japanese schoolchildren wear backpacks known as Randoseru. Though sturdily made, after the first 6 years they're no longer used. Nishikawa Masako takes such disused Randoseru brought in by clients and remakes them into accessories that...
Working as an architectural designer after college, Kigami Natsuko soon added "jewelry maker" to her job description. Using things like discarded tile and other waste that's all too common on construction sites, she makes earrings...
The Japanese southern island of Okinawa Prefecture, warm all year, this popular tourist spot is home to "Ryukyu Glass," a local industry for over 100 years. Glass blower Matsumoto Sakae insists on using discarded bottles...
Kids just love coloring with crayons! But what if a child puts them in their mouth or tries to eat them? Kimura Naoko has come up with a new type of crayon made with fruits...
