NEXT ARTISANS
Maki-e lacquer design and Woodworking

Tuesday July 15, 2025 7-8:30pm
at The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
(5700 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 100, Los Angeles CA 90036)

Admission FREE
Please register HERE

ATTENTION: Google might show an incorrect location when searched only a part of the address. 
Please include the entire address and make sure it is directing you to Mid-City (NOT K-Town or Century City).

Selected two young artisans from Kyoto, Japan will demonstrate their skills and give a talk about their passion and ambition for Japanese arts and crafts.
This program is in collaboration with the Five Senses Foundation.

About Five Senses Foundation
Five Senses Foundation (FSF) is based in Seattle, WA, and supports, preserves, and celebrates traditional Japanese arts. Its larger mission is to inspire people, especially youth, to live harmoniously with nature. Understanding and practicing these arts – today threatened with extinction – leads to a more sustainable and mindful lifestyle, while combating dehumanizing prejudices and enhancing cross-cultural understanding.

The Collaboration Between Five Senses Foundation and the Traditional Arts Super-College of Kyoto (TASK)
The Summer Short-Stay Scholarship Program is FSF’s principal program.  The program features a cultural/student exchange with TASK, the leading Japanese institution for traditional arts in Japan. The program’s mission is to help these students become traditional Japanese arts “ambassadors” and leaders in their artistic fields.
During their short-stay in the US, students are exposed to a variety of local people/places, including a corporate campus tour, visit to local museums and art studios, and private art collection tours.  The students also give presentations at local events to demonstrate their skills, mastery and dedication.
 

artisans
 

Hana Ishizeki – Makie (Japanese lacquer design) artist
While in high school, Hana Ishizeki was captivated by the beauty of Makie (Japanese lacquer design) when she saw a demonstration by a local Makie artist. So it was not surprising that she chose Makie as her major when she entered TASK. She has devoted herself to learning complex Japanese lacquer processes, methods and techniques and exploring the variety and intricacies of Makie design. After graduating from TASK in 2021, she returned to her home prefecture of Shizuoka to work for “Oigawa Mempa Oiya,” a maker of lacquerware that specializes in wood containers such as bento boxes. By utilizing her knowledge gained from her TASK studies, Hana creates a variety of original lacquerware pieces with intricate Makie designs.

Miki Annen – woodworking artist
Miki Annen is a junior at TASK majoring in woodworking.  Having been raised in her family’s log house, she has always been surrounded by natural wood.  She came to enjoy experimenting with wood and creating handmade wooden objects.  She chose to study machine woodworking in high school, then furthered her studies of woodworking for three years in northern Hokkaido.  She applied and was accepted by TASK in order to learn hand joinery. Her desire is to share the art, craft and joy of woodworking, and Japan’s traditional arts and crafts as a whole.

Photo credit: TASK