Traditional arts in Japan

I've done more in pottery than any other Japanese craft. I've helped out at a lot of different wood-fired kilns. There are many places all over Japan where you can try out making pottery. Most of them fire your works in a gas or electric kiln, but it's still a lot of fun. I've added two photos I took on Monday (April 24) at Takatori Hassen kiln in Koishiwara, Asakura-gun in Fukuoka prefecture. The kiln that was fired on Sunday/Monday was a tan-gama (単窯) a single chamber kiln with furnace on both sides of the central chamber where the ceramics are housed. The climbing kiln below it is multi-chambered (four for the ceramics) and fired at the bottom. Because of its massive size, the climbing kiln isn't fired very often. I do quite a few crafts, including making dried flowers, ikebana, leather crafts, and wearing kimono. I have three kimono–denim, silk, and wool. Because I am fairly big, most used kimono don't fit, so I had all three made for me. I wear the kimono at events. Most recently, I wore the denim kimono during an event I organized featuring a kamishibai (paper drama) that I have produced during the past two years. The drawings are all made by students (high school and university) and when we do another reading this year at the university, I plan to wear kimono again.