Reviving Japanese traditional crafts destined for disposal: LESS, BUT BETTER’s new art piece
LESS, BUT BETTER, who shares the philosophy of ‘inheritance’ embodied by JAPAN DORAKU, also participated in the social contribution activity × entertainment festival ‘JAPAN DORAKU 2025 in Nijo Castle’ held over two days in September 2025 at a World Heritage site in Kyoto. The concept is ‘less, but better’. This fine art project collects aged or discarded Japanese traditional crafts, folk crafts, and industrial waste from Japan and abroad. Collaborating with distinctive artists, it breathes new life into these items, transforming them into unique art pieces and objets d’art.
Since launching its first exhibition in 2024, new works have been released regularly, with every piece being an upcycled, one-off creation.
This spring features two artists, chiho monguchi and Mitsuyoshi, alongside the ACRAFT label. By collaborating with contemporary artists to remake discarded crafts and folk art, the project positively recycles antiques, transforming the negative inevitability of disposal. LESS, BUT BETTER embodies the vital role of passing on enduring traditions, cultures, and techniques – those rich histories too precious to be lost – to future generations.
Passing Flowers
Artist：Chiho Monguchi
Artist Chiho Monguchi finds beauty in the transformation of materials through natural phenomena driven by heat, such as ‘melting’ and “solidifying”. By layering flowers without directly touching the vessel, she expresses the ‘beauty of crossing paths’ where aesthetics from different eras intersect. The motif, the red spider lily, is a mysterious plant sharing the same roots yet never revealing its flowers and leaves simultaneously. This existence of living apart mirrors the relationship between traditional craft and contemporary art.
［W23×H42×D15cm］￥88,000
Inori
Artist：Mitsuyoshi
Artist Mitsuyoshi’s signature style interweaves science, culture, history and urban legends against a backdrop of black and silver, with a consistent theme exploring ‘the relationship between humanity and the cosmos’. The swarm of sperm depicted across the entire body of this traditional kokeshi doll symbolises life and represents a collective prayer—a powerful wish for the recovery of Noto. The contrast between “black”, symbolising darkness, and “silver”, shining as a light of hope, is striking.
［W13.5×H51.5×D13.5cm］￥88,000
Bearers of the Forest
Artist：Chiho Monguchi
A mother bear and cub bear the forest upon their backs, protecting nature while sustaining life. Chiho Monguchi guides us towards forms that seem accidental yet are calculated necessities. Through the contrast of woodcarving texture and flowing resin, she highlights the beauty of nature in decline and the beings that sustain it. Through the image of bears bearing the forest, she poses the question: perhaps it is we humans who should bear this responsibility…
［W16.5×H18×D13cm］￥99,000
Gray Snake
Artist：ACRAFT
ACRAFT is a craft art brand produced by professional skateboarder Aoi Shimizu. Incorporating techniques such as sashiko stitching, patchwork, and collage, it reconstructs the traditional daruma doll. This piece, imbued with wild beauty and tension, symbolises regeneration and transformation through the snake’s repeated shedding and evolution. More than a mere object, it is an entity embodying the force of life.
［W18×H20×D15.5cm］￥143,000
