熊本県伝統工芸館

Craft items that originate from Kumamoto and were handed down for generations are designated “Traditional Crafts of Kumamoto.” To receive this designated, the craft must be made using traditional techniques and must have over 30years of history. There are about 90 such designated crafts in Kumamoto, including metalwork, ceramics, woodwork, bamboo crafts, dying and weaving, paper products, and traditional toys.

To be deemed a “Nationally Designated Craft,” the traditional skills or techniques used to make the craft must have over 100 years of history, and must have developed in a fixed region with more than 10 organizations or 30 individual craftsmen currently engaged in the production of the craft.
Over 200 crafts in Japan have been declared Nationally Designated Crafts,
including Kyo and Arita ware pottery, and Wajima-style lacquerware.
In Kumamoto, Shodai pottery, Amakusa ceramics, and Higo inlay metalwork all received this distinction in March 2003. In December 2013, Yamaga lanterns were the fourth craft from Kumamoto to be designated.