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Japan Blue (4’09”)
“Japan Blue” is a special shade of the color unique to Japan, produced from a local variety of indigo plant called tadeai using a number of traditional natural dyeing methods. For centuries, this blue was a distinctive feature of Japanese daily life, with most people wearing clothing in a range of indigo hues. This indigo fabric is now a hot item in the fashion world, eagerly sought by apparel makers worldwide for its practical applications as well as its beauty.

Yuju: The Fruit that Saved a Village (3’48”)
Yuzu, a citrus fruit with a unique aroma and acidity, has been used for centuries in Japanese cuisine as seasoning and condiment. This fruit revived the fortunes of Umaji, a small village in Kochi whose population of 1,000 was dwindling due to an aging population and decline in forestry jobs. Umaji turned to its traditional crop to save itself, developing a range of ingenious yuzu-based products that eventually became so successful that now when you say “yuzu” people think of Umaji.

Plating: A Technology Still at the Cutting Edge (4’04”)
Plating refers to a number of processes for applying a metallic coating, usually gold or nickel, to the surface of objects for decoration and rust protection. It’s very durable – the 8th century Great Buddha in Nara, a World Heritage Site, still bears traces of its gold plating from over 1,000 years ago. Japan has been a technological innovator in this field, recently developing the first practical way to plate plastic surfaces, and now exploring new applications in nano-technology.

A New Era for Japan’s Forests (4’01”)
Almost seventy percent of Japan is covered in forest. Over-cutting in the post war period stripped much of the nation’s mountains of their trees. This was followed by a widespread program of reforestation, and 60 years later, those trees are now mature and ready for harvesting. However, much of the forest workforce is approaching retirement. Kochi, a heavily forested prefecture, has set up a school to train a new generation of young foresters, and has also successfully modernized its forestry with a focus on recyclability and reducing costs.