Traditional Kyoto crafts showcasing at Porta pop up event

Kyoto Porta shopping centre has luanched a special exhibition with Kyoto WORKS titled Kyo Machinaka Ichi by Kyoshoten. It runs for 16 days from 12 to 27 May, and aims to revitalise local industries, supporting the businesses and individuals who maintain Kyoto’s traditional culture.

The exhibition’s concept is to allow visitors to see, touch, and experience Kyoto’s traditional crafts. Nine local companies specialising in various disciplines are participating in the event. Items for sale include traditional Kyo-rosoku candles, folding fans, and prayer beads, alongside modern adaptations such as tableware made using roof tile techniques and accessories crafted from kimono fabrics.

The participating companies come from a spectrum of Kyoto’s artisanal history. Nakamura Candle, established in 1887, showcases hand-painted vegetable wax candles, while Asada Kawara Seizousho, the only remaining Kyoto roof tile kiln in the city, presents ceramics and lamps that use traditional smoking techniques. Other exhibitors include Tamura Shogundo, a specialist in Hanafuda playing cards, and Onishi Kyo-sensu-do, a ninth-generation folding fan maker.

To foster a deeper connection between the public and the artisans, the event includes a series of daily workshops. Participants have the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities such as making accessories from kimono silk, creating Mizuhiki decorative cord work, and practicing the delicate art of gold leaf application.

For those interested and will be in Kyoto City, the event is located in the central passage of the B1F West Area of Kyoto Porta and is open daily from 11:00am to 20:30pm.