A Treasured Creation

One of Japan's most prized textiles comes from a subtropical island where the makers still hew to the methods of 1,300 years ago. Using indigenous plants and ponds of iron-rich mud, the artisans of Amami-Oshima create luxurious silk pongee, threading the island's long history of poverty and oppression into their craft.

The Chin kiln of Kagoshima has been turning out intricate pottery for more than 400 years. The signature openwork and fine detailing was a sensation at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Now the current, 15th-generation head of the family is on a mission to develop new clay from local volcanic earth to bring out an ultimate whiteness in their Satsuma ware.

Rows of black ceramic pots sit in the sun as rice and koji malt ferment inside. For more than a year, the enzymes will turn the mash into prized amber vinegar with only the gentlest interventions from the brewers. "Every pot turns out different faces," says vinegar artisan Sakamoto Hiroaki. "We try to listen to what the magical fungi are saying." We explore the centuries-old methods behind the making of Kurozu vinegar.