From Tokyo Preschool Teacher to Joining a Family of Traditional Crafts

In 2013, before getting married, Hisako visited her husband Takao’s family home in Ishikawa for the first time and toured the workshop.

"I’d only ever heard he was 'self-employed and made things,' but this was my first time actually seeing it. It felt like stepping into the pages of a social studies textbook—I was amazed to discover that jobs like this existed!"

At that time, her husband was still a salaryman. Watching him work in a demanding environment, Hisako offhandedly suggested, "Why don’t you take over the family business?" That casual remark became the turning point for both of them. They began to seriously consider inheriting the family trade, which eventually led them to move to Ishikawa.

Having majored in English and American literature at university and worked as a preschool teacher, the world of lacquerware was totally uncharted territory to Hisako. Nonetheless, bolstered by her confidence that "I can work anywhere as a preschool teacher" and her dream of "someday working abroad," Ishikawa didn’t feel all that far away.

"The language is still Japanese and compared to moving overseas, Ishikawa felt much closer! (laughs) To be honest, I was running on pure energy at that point."

But soon after relocating, she found out she was pregnant and gave birth. Her involvement in the family business started gradually and almost naturally, and she often found herself thrown by the cultural differences between Tokyo and her new home.

"In Tokyo, it’s normal for both partners to work, and child-rearing is a shared responsibility. Here, there’s still an old-school mentality—'dangerous jobs are for men,' 'clerical work and serving tea are for women.' At first, I was surprised and thought, 'Ah, so this is how it is.'"

As she navigated local customs and dialect, Hisako also grappled with her place as "the Tokyo-born bride in a family of traditional crafts." During this journey, she grew to understand words a senior teacher told her when she quit: “It works better if you don’t overdo it. Take off your armor from the start—it’s easier that way.”