Project

Made with Japan
2018
Lithuania＋Amami Oshima

Project Made with Japan, which connect linen to Oshima tsumugi, has started based on the concept of “Enjoying quality products for a long time.” Oshima tsumugi industry is a cultural tradition of Amami Oshima with a great history. It is said that three generations can wear the same Oshima Tsumugi garment. However, after World War II, their culture has become more westernized, and it is getting more difficult to preserve the tradition and weaving skills of Oshima tsumugi. Therefore, we decided to focus especially on “dorozome” (mud dyeing) amongst a lot of weaving cultures in Amami Oshima and to try to murge Lithuanian linen and Oshima tsumugi.
Text and Photo Aki Tomura
English follows.

Travel

Visit Minamata
2018

Minamata City is located at the southern-most point of Kumamoto prefecture in Kyushu, an island in the south-west portion of the Japanese archipelago. This land, which is blessed to be surrounded by both the sea and the mountains and where the traces of people living bountiful lives since ancient times still remain to this day, became famous around the world due to the 1956 discovery of Minamata Disease, a type of chemical poisoning caused by release of tainted waste-water into the environment.
After a long battle with this negative reputation due to the chemical pollution, in 2008 Minamata city was nationally recognized as a model for environmental relief. Now, the city looks towards the future. We’re working hard to create a brighter future, together.
Text and Photo Aki Tomura

Project

Made with Japan
2017
Latvia＋Sabae,Fukui

The 2017 edition of FOLKHOOD　Made with Japan, will bring together woodwork from Latvia, the central country of the Baltic states, and lacquerware from Sabae, Fukui Prefecture.
Latvia is a country that has a culture of nature worship similar to that of Japan. Known as Latvian Shinto, is has centered on the sun god Saule since ancient times. This edition of FOLKHOOD has gone for a fusion of the woodwork that is done during the long winter months and lacquerware techniques, which are indispensable for life in humid Asia.
Text and Photo Aki Tomura
English follows.

Project

ONSEN for your Bath
Toji-Vacances in Japan

Therapeutic spas are a unique part of Japan’s onsen culture. It has existed in Japan for a long time. People have been going to onsens matched with their ailment in attempts to find a cure.
Discover the world of Japan’s therapeutic spas.
It’s also time for us Japanese to reexamine our relationship with water and the culture associated with it. Approximately 2.6 million liters of this valuable resource springs out Japan every minute. We need to rethink its value in our daily lives.

Text and Photo by Aki Tomura

Travel

A trip to Sri Lanka
2018

Everything returns to nature, becoming the forest. This is underlying thought behind that special sense of unrestrained relaxation and abundance felt in Asian resorts, and gives birth to Wild Luxury Sri Lanka. The town of Galle experienced many years of civil war and lost 35,322 people to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake disaster off the shore of Sumatra, but has been completely rebuilt within the past 15 years. Here you’ll find the mountains, the sea, wild safari. This trip showcasing the wild and beautiful Sri Lankan culture will allow you to get familiar with Asian living and style, the relationship between people and the 21st century landscape, as well as with the origins of time.

Text and Photo by Aki Tomura

Book

EKIBEN
Japanese Boxed lunch
in Wonderland

The Industrial Revolution brought the spread of railroad tracks to major cities throughout the world, and this enabled people to come into contact with previously unknown regions and people in places far, far away. While railroad culture exists around the world, the ekiben culture is unique to Japan. Of course there are other cultures involving food, but the ekiben culture is unique in that it shares the special products of a local region in a unique container with people arriving at a station, and the detail oriented cuisine makes use of local ingredients, seasonings, and preservation methods. The amount of love for one’s hometown being so evident in a single meal and the industry’s careful attention to detail for every aspect of the food are not seen in other countries.

Text and Photo by Aki Tomura

Shop

FOLKHOOD Original
Five Senses Plate

The dining table is an enjoyable place where we use each of our five senses. For the basic Japanese full course, an average of three to four small plates are prepared to hold the condiments and seasonings and are replaced throughout the meal. This plate has the same size as five average small plates combined and does not need to be replaced over and over. At New Year or when guests come to visit, it allows the host to create a table setting where he or she can sit at the table with the guests and relax. When the plate needs to be washed, it is just one plate. In kitchens that have little storage space, the plate can be stacked to be both beautiful and stable. This is a plate that is easy to use both at home and in restaurant.

What is FOLKHOOD?


The one and only place.

The word "folkhood" is not in the dictionary. It is a word we have created, and is yet to exist in the world. Folkhood is a word to be shared with like-minded people with whom you discuss lifestyles for the coming age and turn them into reality. FOLKHOOD aims to create businesses that will lead to the gradual solution of issues by questioning our daily life and work style.

Like a folk song.

Folk songs are sung and shared by many people. Good songs will continue to be sung for hundreds of years, over the generations. FOLKHOOD supports the basis of the lives of a wider range of people, and generates and re-edits sustainable items. With our base in Japan, a small island country that experiences many natural disasters, we will spread projects around the world which enable the sharing of our experiences, technologies and ideas, all revolving around the theme of "Made with Japan". We hope to continue to offer ever more opportunities for talking about the changes required by the times with specialists from each field and for co-production with like-minded people.

Concept of FOLKHOOD


In creation of a “place” and “opportunity” that transcends borders and generations

Some people exceed others in one way or another. When we were college students, we would often be distressed by our own incompetence, but in a workplace, this becomes a totally different matter. In a workplace, there are many places where ones’ character and liking can be accepted and utilized and this creates a big force as a result of everyone coming together and cooperating. Moreover, a strong character and conviction can create something that is unknown to us all.

At FOLKHOOD, we revisit our ideal daily lives and by connecting one’s specialty and strong points we will aspire to share and sustain a working place for generations to come. We will also consider why we cannot be happy through our workplace. We will look into a workplace that does not sell labor by the hours and minutes, but combining with our discussions in making our lives free of pain and worry, we will answer the pains of labor.

Through a number of study groups and discussions with various people that has specialty in many categories, at FOLKHOOD, we will create a new business that matches with the times and that solves the many issues in our present day, in coordination with companies and craftsmen.

Our theme is push and PLAY.

FOLKHOOD’s CI is . This mark identifies play in audio and visual machines. The FOLKHOOD project would like to be everyone’s play button, a button that can be the start of something new for all those involved. We will go after the creation of a new product with a story in which we can all just forget about the time and play along by just pushing PLAY.

    • The ten articles of FOLKHOOD


  • 1
    • Aim for an environmental friendly self-sustainable society.
    • Respect Mother Nature and think of a well-balanced co-existence model between nature and people.
  • 2
    • Create a service that connects the city and the rural community.
  • 3
    • Be original.
    • We will not copy other people’s ideas and products.
  • 4
    • Sow the seeds and let it grow.
    • Be involved wholeheartedly from beginning to end and repeat that process over and over again.
  • 5
    • Break the stereotype and recreate along with the needs of the times.
    • Don’t make excuses and run away.
  • 6
    • Do not talk ill of others. Create a relationship where we can all grow our positives.
    • Take back our lost bondage of togetherness.
  • 7
    • Listen to our children.
    • Or, bring our children to our workplace.
  • 8
    • Travel and experience the real thing.
    • Do not pretend to know just by looking things up over the Internet.
  • 9
    • Create services and goods that appeal across borders.
    • Think of the larger common values and needs.
  • 10
    • Be excited.
    • Re-think our work and aim to transform or values and view of the world.

  • What we do


  • Business planning
     and development
  • Product planning
     and development
  • Event planning
     and development
  • Creative direction
  • Design
  • Photographic styling
  • Photographing
  • Publishing planning
  • Editing and writing
  • Copywriting
  • Naming