New Books Network Shilla Lee , "Crafting Rural Japan: Traditional Potters and Rural Creativity in Regional Revitalization" (Routledge, 2024)
Dec 7, 2025
Shilla Lee, a postdoctoral researcher focusing on contemporary craft and rural revitalization in Japan, dives into the pottery industry of Tamba Sasayama. She discusses how local potters are central to rejuvenating rural areas, transforming them into spaces of hope amid challenges. The concept of a 'creative village' is explored, highlighting its importance in fostering community and culture. Lee emphasizes the value of everyday practices and local engagement over top-down initiatives, unveiling the nuanced social dynamics within pottery and village life.
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Rurality Reframed As Creative Potential
- Tanba Sasayama reframed regional decline by promoting a “creative village” that values rurality as potential rather than backwardness.
- The creative village concept positions rural creativity as morally and economically valuable in post-growth Japan.
Rural Spaces Become Configurations Of Hope
- Lee argues rural spaces have become new configurations of hope amid Japan's post-growth uncertainties.
- Rural revitalization projects thus function as national as well as local experiments in imagining alternative futures.
Study Rurality As Analytical Lens
- Studying "of" rural space treats rurality as an active lens, not merely a field site for data collection.
- This approach reveals how urban-centered norms shape power relations and the meanings of rural life.
