Urushi Teacup Saucer

This wooden dessert spoon is one of the many products created at a support centre in Kagoshima, Shobu Gakuen, which offers a safe, relaxing environment for people with intellectual disabilities and promotes mutual interactions with the local communities through cross-cultural exchanges, collaborations and creative activities. By bringing out people’s innate creative abilities through their workshops, they aim to create a world in which people with disabilities do not require support. These saucers were created through workshops in woodworking studios, that support the independence of the Shobu Gakuen’s residents. Rather than following a specific design, these saucers were made as a natural expression of the participants’ carving and woodworking capabilities, then covered in urushi, a sap used to make Japanese lacquerware.

Kyūshū and Okinawa

This is Japan’s south-west region including the island of Kyūshū and the sub-tropical island chain of Okinawa. Kyūshū was an early centre of Japanese civilization, and offers many historic treasures, modern cities and volcanic natural beauty. It is home to the ports of Kagoshima, Nagasaki and Fukuoka, the porcelain manufacturing centre in Arita and the Tanegashima Space Center launch site.