²Ñ²¹³¦³ó¾±-°ì¨²ú²¹ is the name given to small, city factories in Japan, usually operated by a family, or a handful of craftspeople. While traditional Japanese crafts slowly gather dust in museums (or are regularly dusted in department stores), the baton of the ¡°unknown craftsman¡± and the ¡°everyday object¡± has been passed on to these factories. But that doesn¡¯t mean business is good.
Two decades of economic trouble have taken their toll, and manufacturing is heading offshore as Japan tries to re-invent itself as a knowledge economy. These machi-k¨ba produce all kinds of industrial items and everyday goods: Teapots, cardboard boxes, scissors, tofu, glass cups, automotive parts, knives and cutlery are a few examples, but there are thousands of unique items being manufactured in these spaces.
For five days this October, one of the largest open-factory festivals took place in Niigata Prefecture. Fighting local apathy, changing ideas about design, and an economy that suggests that manufacturing is on its way out, Kouba Fes (¡°Factory Festival¡°) opened the doors to 54 machi-k¨ba in Tsubamesanjo, an old metalworking town attempting a revival through design.
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