Traditional Craft, Crisis or ... ?
As a worker in the field of traditional Japanese crafts, one of the most common things I hear from visitors to my workshop is, "Isn't it a pity that wonderful crafts like this are dying out nowadays." We sometimes tend to view traditional crafts as being superior to modern ways of doing things, but I have to wonder about this. I am sure that the craftsmen of old did not view their work in special terms. I think that they were simply people 'doing a job'. Whether they were potters, straw sandal makers, temple carpenters, or even woodblock printmakers like me, they simply got up each morning, had their breakfast, and started work, just like we do today. They made products needed by their society. But over the course of the years, as times changed, demand for various commodities fell, and that for others rose. The wheel turns - it never stops turning. Various ways of doing things arise, flourish for a time, and then fade away - naturally.
If this is indeed the normal course of events, then we should not really be so concerned with the passing of traditional crafts. We should not cry, "It's such a shame!" when we hear of a master craftsman with no apprentices by his side learning the trade. The young people who could have been his apprentices are all off busy creating new ways of doing things, as young people should. Edo-era crafts cannot possibly have much relevance in a Heisei-era world.
Even as we accept this though, another point of view remains. Think of our musician friends, busy creating modern forms of music: rock, jazz and pop, but also still making room for listening to Mozart. In this case, the modern has not displaced the old, but simply stands beside it. It seems that our society is quite capable of sparing some of its resources for the purpose of preserving these traditions.
But this can only be true for as long as there is an audience for them. If people continue to buy recordings of Mozart's music, traditional musicians will continue to play it, thus preserving the tradition. As long as people choose hand-made dishes for their table, potters will be happy to continue to create them. It comes down to a simple equation: if you value such things, then you must make use of them in your daily life. If you do not, then the wheel will indeed turn full circle, and they will disappear as a matter of course.
The choice is yours to make. It is not we the craftsmen, but you the consumers, who will decide which crafts will survive. We are waiting, our skills ready to be at your service. Our future is in your hands.
TV Listings
The 'Woodblock Shimbun' has a full selection of TV programs on file. Videos available include some of David's news appearances, complete feature programs, and some short documentaries on his work. The files are in QuickTime format, and can be easily viewed with your browser.
Program listings are on the Index page ... 
World of Japanese Craftsmen: Printmaker David Bull
"Have you ever seen a woodblock print?" asked printmaker David Bull, with a twinkle in his eye. Up until that point, I thought had seen a fair few. He then turned off the light overhead and steered me toward the sunlight streaming through the window, putting one of his latest prints in my hands. Sure enough, what had seemed a lovely design under the harsh fluorescent lighting took on a new depth in the soft glow of the winter sunshine. The colors were richer, the fuzziness and subtle grain of the handmade paper was readily apparent and the impression left by the wood-blocks used to print the design could be seen to full advantage. (2001)
Full Story.
David Bull: Printmaker
The classic woodblock prints made famous by Hokusai and others depict a stylized, long-lost Japan. A chance encounter with woodblock printing at an exhibition in Toronto more than twenty years ago led David Bull down a path that has made him the only artist, Japanese or foreign, working to reproduce those classical prints. (2000)
Full Story.
A Traditional Woodblock Printer
Surrounded by carving tools, brushes and bowls of
pigment, he spends hours absorbed in the exacting work that has
become both a passion and a ten-year project. A Canadian who moved to Tokyo in 1986, David Bull
has made an extensive effort to learn and practice woodblock
printmaking as it was mastered in Edo-era Japan. He is currently
producing a series of woodblock prints using designs by the famous
Ukiyo-e artist Katsukawa Shunsho. The theme is the 100 poets of old
Japan (Hyakunin Isshu) and in four years he has completed 40 of them.
He expects to finish the collection in 1998. (1992)
Full Story.
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