On August 21st and 22nd, Miharu held its first Arts and Crafts festival near Miharu no Sato, by the Miharu dam. In 2 days, over 2000 people came, and sometimes from quite far. We feel this is very encouraging for a first edition. Reactions were also overwhelmingly positive. We would like to thank warmly all our visitors, and we will try to have an even bigger, better and more fun event next year.
We would also like to thank all those who made the event possible. First and foremost, thank you to all the participants whose energy and good spirits (in spite of the heat) made the event a success. Thank you to the Miharu town workers for their support throughout the organization and their hard work on the days of the event.
This year, visitors were able to see artists and craftsmen of many different trades, such as painters, potters, tatami makers, weavers, photographers, paper doll makers, carpenters, roof tilers, glass smiths, etc. Some of them even demonstrated their crafts.
A carpenter demonstrated nail-less carpentry, a technique used in temple construction, by building a dog house during the festival, to which a roof tiler added a copper roof. A potter demonstrated wheel throwing. A tatami maker showed how she weaves the straw, etc. Next year, we will try to have an even greater variety of crafts present, and more demonstrations.
Follow this link for some pictures of the 2010 event.
Many talented artists and craftsmen live in Miharu, keeping traditions alive and creating new ones.
Miharu is also home to the famous Takizakura, a thousand-year-old cherry tree.