About
Craft × Tech

Craft x Tech is an experimental and artistic project that explores how aesthetic sensibilities embedded in Japanese craft can be reimagined through a thoughtful and skillful creative process—where “craft” and “tech” engage in a meaningful dialogue.

In collaboration with traditional craft communities across Japan — including those specializing in lacquer, metal, woodworking, ceramics, washi paper, and textiles — we work closely with both Japanese and international artists and designers. Together, we create new art pieces that reinterpret and revitalize the world of craft by layering contemporary perspectives and questions onto its inherent temporality, ecological connectedness, and inherited wisdom.

What we now call “traditional crafts” are, in fact, the result of centuries of continual innovation. The sensibilities and aesthetics that flow through Japanese culture have consistently been shaped and expressed through the tools and technologies of each era. Yet as Japan’s lifestyle has modernized, craft has gradually been distanced from daily life — reduced to symbols of “tradition” or “Japaneseness.” In this context, we seek to reengage with the aesthetic essence of craft and give it new form through a contemporary lens.

“Craft” is not simply the act of making; it is the embodiment of aesthetic sensibility, embedded in the dialogue between hand and material. “Tech,” in turn, is the vessel of thought through which that sensibility takes tangible shape. Through this project, we aim to cast light once again on the hidden soul of craft, and pursue a new form of art that can be carried forward into the future.

Craft x Tech Lecture Series

In collaboration with the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Craft x Tech hosts a special lecture series that extends beyond the act of making—offering a space for deeper reflection and dialogue. Through talks between traditional artisans from across Japan and contemporary creators, the series explores the background of each collaboration, and discusses the past, present, and future of regionally rooted techniques and cultures—uncovering new perspectives on craftsmanship.

Beyond the lectures, Craft x Tech also engages in joint research, technological development, and talent exchange with local communities. In this way, it functions not only as an artistic project, but also as a practical platform for reexamining the relevance of craftsmanship in today’s world, and for supporting its continued evolution and transmission into the future.

Founder, Creative Director

Hideki Yoshimoto

Designer and Creative Director; Project Associate Professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), The University of Tokyo. Born in Wakayama Prefecture in 1985. After completing an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Tokyo in 2010, he earned a Ph.D. in Innovation Design Engineering from the Royal College of Art, UK, in 2016.　Yoshimoto founded the design studio Tangent in London in 2015. In 2020 he co-established the Advanced Art Design Lab at RCAST, broadening his practice from bases in both London and Tokyo. Working at the intersection of design and engineering, he leads projects that range from concept development for global luxury brands to technology-driven new-business creation and urban-development initiatives. He recently launched the international initiative “Craft x Tech,” which connects traditional Japanese crafts with contemporary technology, channeling his efforts toward both the preservation and evolution of Japanese culture.

Official Website

Curatorial Director

Maria Cristina Didero

Independent design curator, consultant and author, who collaborated with different publications and magazines, among them Domus and Vogue; she was editor at large for Icon Design and Milan editor for Wallpaper magazine. Didero has consulted for companies such as Vitra, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Valextra among others. Based in Milan, she works internationally, curating exhibitions: some of her projects include Nendo: The Space in Between and The Conversation Show at the Holon Design Museum, Israel; FUN HOUSE by Snarkitecture at National Building Museum, Washington D.C.; SuperDesign on Italian radical design, R&Company, NY; Vegan Design - or the Art of Reduction by Erez Nevi and The Fish and The Crowd by Carlo Massoud, MDW. In 2020 she was in charge of the public program for Supersalone by Stefano Boeri, in 2022 she was appointed Curatorial Director of Design Miami/, presented a project at MK&G in Hamburg, titled Ask Me if I Believe in the Future and a solo show by Mathieu Lehanneur titled The Inventory of Life, at Triennale Milano. For MDW 2023, she co-curated with Richard Hutten Droog30 for the 30th anniversary of Droog Design, with Tony Chambers Future Impact for Singapore Design Council and A Future for the Past for on entropy.

Official Website

Management Team

Project Manager

Ai Hamaguchi
Project Manager

Eri Sasaki
Project Manager

Kana Kubota
Production Manager

Akane Kawahara
PR Manager

Yuko Kiyotake

Graphic Design

Art Director

Shohei Sugano
Director

Chiaki Shimizu

Photography

Tohoku Project

Jun Sugawara
Tohoku Project

Shuhei Watanabe
Tokai Project

Noritoshi Kuroki
Video Editor

Yuki Tanzawa

About
Craft × Tech

Craft x Tech Lecture Series

Hideki Yoshimoto

Maria Cristina Didero

Management Team

Graphic Design

Photography

Partners

Featured Articles

About Craft × Tech

Craft x Tech Lecture Series

Hideki Yoshimoto

Maria Cristina Didero

Management Team

Graphic Design

Photography

Partners

Featured Articles

About
Craft × Tech