Iva Gobić

Professional training in the field of restoration of paper artefacts included, among other things, studying the craftsmanship of traditional Japanese hand-made paper, traditional materials, tools, their production and use, what approach they use in Japan to protect their cultural assets, and so forth. Besides Tokyo, I visited Nagoya, Mino, Kyoto and Echizen. The latter three places are known for their tradition of making handmade Washi paper, which was inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2014. I was most impressed by those traditional crafts of hand-made paper, the incredible skill, precision, thoroughness and dedication of the masters to their work. In Japan, traditional crafts are really nurtured and maintained, passed down from generation to generation, and the best washi masters have the status of living national treasures. I had the incredible good fortune and honour of meeting one of them, Mr. Ichibe Iwano IX from Echizen, who is a ninth generation master of manual paper making and who then, in his late 80s, diligently made paper every day, despite how difficult and painstaking the work, not even thinking about retirement (he was taken aback when I asked him about that).
I was surprised by how popular and customary it is among the Japanese to spend their free time on games of chance (in Pachinko parlours) or in karaoke hotels, where they have fun singing alone in themed rooms. I was in Japan during the Pokemon GO craze, where every evening the neighbourhood where I stayed (near Ueno Park) would be awash with hordes of people in a semi-trance “chasing Pokemons,” staring at their phones, oblivious of everyone else, each in their own movie. Having “fun" in solitude, virtual fun, with no interaction with other people is very pronounced in Japan, which I find confusing, especially given that when there is interaction, the people are extremely polite and friendly. Considering that this is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, it's amazing to me how chaotic their power supply system looks – but apparently it works! And the insane electric sound of crickets that can be heard in Tokyo over the huge crowds of people brought into perfect harmony and order.