Traditional Arts and Crafts of Japan and Nepal

Both Japan and Nepal are ancient cultures with rich traditions of arts and crafts. Although these two Asian countries are quite a distance apart, yet many similarities are found between them. Japan has been a recipient of arts, crafts, culture, lanquage, religion from mainland China and Korea. Similarly, Nepal has received culture and religion from India and transmitted it to Tibet and China. The study of the arts and crafts of Japan and Nepal reveals that their origin must be the same. There is virtually no difference in the original form and character of traditional arts and crafts practised in both Japan and Nepal. the diffusion of arts and crafts in Asia occurred across both land and sea. The fabled Si Poad of the past connecting Asia and Europe has made the greatest contribution in the diffusion of traditional arts, crafts, culture, religion and language.

This study by Prof, Chhabilal Gajurel is the first comprehensive comparative study of the traditional arts and crafts of Japan and Nepal. fo the casual visitor, the obvious similarity is the hand-made rice papers for which both countries are famous, although Nepal’s industry is less developed. There are other traditional crafts as well. from both a technical and aesthetic perspective, this unique book also explores the similarities and differences in other village crafts such as pottery, textile dyeing and printing, bambooware, metalware. and woodwork. There is also an n appendix on traditional farming methods, A must for anyone interested in traditional Asian arts and crafts from these two very diverse countries.

**Sample Pages**