FEATURE: Japan's troubled craft industry pins hopes on "Japonisme" reboot

As production of Japan's traditional craftworks goes into decline due to diminishing spending power in their home market, moves are under way to lure foreign buyers by sparking a renewed interest in Japanese art and design such as the one that swept 19th-century Western Europe.The efforts to create a new wave of "Japonisme" -- a French term that was used to describe the popularity of Japanese art among European elites in the wake of the forced reopening of Japan in the 1850s -- reflect a strong sense of alarm about the future of some of Japan's oldest, most beloved but dying craft tradition…READ FULL ARTICLE