Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Yadong Li
Guest: Dr. Shella Lee
Episode: “Crafting Rural Japan: Traditional Potters and Rural Creativity in Regional Revitalization” (Routledge, 2024)
Date: December 7, 2025

Overview

This episode centers on Dr. Shella Lee’s new ethnographic book, Crafting Rural Japan, which investigates how traditional pottery and the concept of “rural creativity” reshape regional revitalization in contemporary Japan. Focusing on the rural community of Tamba Sasayama and its pottery village of Tachikui, Dr. Lee explores how local governments, experts, and craftspeople navigate demographic and economic challenges through the crafting of new rural futures. The conversation offers insights into the shifting meanings of hope, the contested terrain of rural revitalization, and the lived experiences of craft practitioners in a post-growth Japan.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Dr. Shella Lee’s Academic Trajectory and Positionality

[03:36–07:50]

• Dr. Lee traces her pathway into anthropology via an early interest in documentary film. Anthropology, she says, “just kind of happened.”
• Japan is a field site to pose broader anthropological questions, rather than a fixed object of study.
• Her identity as a South Korean working in Japan but affiliated with a German institute complicated and enriched her research:

  “I wasn't somebody who fitted in so well in their image... my interesting positionality opened up our discussion... my nationality being Korean... let us touch upon sensitive issues and hence... made our sort of relationship more easygoing later on.” (Dr. Lee, 07:31)

The Case of Tamba Sasayama and the Origins of the Study

[09:04–14:01]

• Lee was drawn by the municipality’s “slightly unconventional approach” to revitalization, centered on the Sozō no Son ("creative village") concept.
• Contrasts “creative village” with the better-known “creative city” concept.
• The site is chosen for its representativeness: "[It] vividly reflected larger changes in how rurality and also post-growth values are understood across Japan." (Dr. Lee, 13:35)

Post-Growth Japan: Hope and Regional Disparity

[14:01–18:54]

• Lee situates her study against Japan’s shift from postwar growth to an era marked by economic and demographic decline.
• Hope is a central but unevenly distributed resource:

  "Hope seemed to reveal a kind of landscape of regional disparity… urban spaces are often associated with stagnation...[while] peripheral regions are increasingly seen as spaces of potential." (Dr. Lee, 15:46/17:22)

• Rural revitalization is framed as "an effort to bring not just the region, but the nation itself, a renewed sense of possibility." (Dr. Lee, 18:54)

Theoretical Approach: “In” Rural Space vs. “Of” Rural Space

[21:14–26:47]

• Lee distinguishes between studying “in” rural space (as just a locus) and “of” rural space (treating rurality as its own analytical focus).
• She argues that “rural” is not a neutral category in Japan; it’s deeply entangled with power, values, and hierarchy:

  "Focusing on rurality allows us to highlight values and relationships that have been overlooked or marginalized by urban-centered social norms." (Dr. Lee, 25:24)

• Offers a call to take rural space seriously as a site of alternative vision and practices in post-growth society.

Ethnographic Methods and Field Encounters

[27:42–33:57]

• Dr. Lee spent a year in Tamba Sasayama in 2018–2019, engaging both city hall officials and potters.
• Used participant observation, attended meetings, helped with activities, shadowed local networks.
• Building rapport with potters took time and improvisation:

  "I think with my engagement with the potters, I had a bit of luck as well... Sometimes the biggest achievements come out of luck." (Dr. Lee, 32:30)

• Emphasized informal interviews, trust-building before deploying surveys (achieved a high response rate).

Craft and Moral Geography: Why Pottery?

[34:55–38:39]

• Tamba pottery, rather than other local assets like black beans, became central to the creative village identity due to its designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Art.
• Pottery offers a “richer story” for regional revitalization—carrying moral and symbolic value rooted in human-nature relations:

  "Pottery sort of told a richer story than black beans when the goal is to highlight regional revitalization with moral and cultural purpose." (Dr. Lee, 38:27)

Complexity and Contestation of “Rural Creativity”

[38:39–43:03]

• The concept of “rural creativity” and the creative village is powerful but ambiguous.
• Official institutional forms (meetings, speeches) reinforce and diffuse these ideas but discourage deeper engagement; even officials are sometimes unclear on their meaning.

• "The residents I spoke with were largely unaware of the concept... even city hall officials sometimes were struggling to fully grasp its meanings and values... Studying creative village wasn't just about understanding what it is, but seeing how it works in practice." (Dr. Lee, 42:12)

Everyday Practice and Lived Experience

[43:03–45:37]

• In Tachikui, potters don’t overtly contest official visions but bring their own motivations and village-scale hopes into collaborative projects.

• "The scale of the hope that they had... were more on the village level sort of hope." (Dr. Lee, 45:31)

• Official and grassroots visions mix, sometimes ambiguously, in everyday revitalization activities.

Ambiguity as Resource and Challenge

[46:47–50:50]

• Ambiguity emerges as a central experience of rural revitalization:

  "Regional revitalization was a sense of ambiguity... the bubble itself is sustaining. And that kind of itself motivates. It sort of goes on." (Dr. Lee, 48:11–50:06)

• For officials, ambiguity represents a challenge and responsibility; for others, an untroubled “bubble” that persists and underpins ongoing activity.

Social Change in the Pottery Community

[51:39–55:33]

• Tightly-knit, male-centered pottery community now sees rising female practitioners and more outsiders.
• Changing social structure is gradually “loosening”; networks that once seemed like backwardness are revalued as sources of efficiency and adaptability.
• Informal ties ease the management of increasing numbers of outreach activities.

Broader Lessons for Rural Revitalization

[55:33–61:48]

• Tamba Sasayama highlights how local practices and relationships—not just policies or branding—are critical for revitalization.
• Local craftwork (pottery) is not simply economic—it's deeply embedded in land and daily life:

  "...the potential for revitalization, I think, is embedded in the everyday life and practices that have persisted despite broader economic and demographic challenges." (Dr. Lee, 60:33)

• Scholars and policymakers should foreground these local, lived realities rather than focus only on outsider or official discourses.

Current and Future Research

[62:26–64:28]

• Dr. Lee is now researching contemporary craft practices in Japan (including lacquerware in Fukui Prefecture), focusing on divisions of labor, new technologies, and broader understandings of craft “production sites.”
• Maintains ongoing interest in regional revitalization and rural societies.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Cross-Cultural Positionality:
  “Because I'm a Korean, but then I was affiliated in German research institute, I think that sort of made the other puzzled about my identity... we could talk about sensitive things as well, political issues and so on and so forth. But somehow that sort of bonded me with the potters…” (Dr. Lee, 06:11–07:31)

• On Hope in Rural Japan:
  "While urban spaces are often associated with stagnation, somehow I felt like... peripheral regions are increasingly seen as spaces of potential... rural space has become the new spatial configuration of hope in Japan." (Dr. Lee, 17:22–18:54)

• On Ambiguity and Practice:
  "Regional revitalization was this sense of ambiguity... somehow things were being done in this bubble. But the interesting thing is it's kind of sustaining. The bubble itself is sustaining. And that... motivates. It sort of goes on." (Dr. Lee, 48:48–50:06)

• On Pottery as Emblem:
  "Pottery sort of told a richer story than black beans when the goal is to highlight regional revitalization with moral and cultural purpose." (Dr. Lee, 38:27)

• On the Value of Everyday Practice:
  "...the potential for revitalization, I think, is embedded in the everyday life and practices that have persisted despite broader economic and demographic challenges." (Dr. Lee, 60:33)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Dr. Lee’s Background: 01:36–07:50
• Why Tamba Sasayama? Creative Villages & Policy: 09:04–14:01
• Hope and Post-Growth Japan: 14:51–18:54
• Studying “In” vs. “Of” Rural Space: 21:14–26:47
• Ethnographic Methods & Fieldwork Stories: 27:42–33:57
• Pottery vs. Black Beans as Regional Symbols: 34:55–38:39
• Ambiguity and Interactions of Stakeholders: 38:39–43:03
• Lived Realities and Collaboration among Potters: 43:48–45:37
• Ambiguity as an Ongoing Resource: 46:47–50:50
• Changing Pottery Community Structures: 51:39–55:33
• Broader Lessons for Rural Policy: 55:33–61:48
• Current/Future Projects: 62:26–64:28

Conclusion

Dr. Shella Lee’s Crafting Rural Japan presents a nuanced portrait of rural revitalization through the lens of craft in Tamba Sasayama. The episode foregrounds how hope, ambiguity, and everyday social relations are woven into the fabric of regional transformation. With rich ethnographic detail and theoretical insight, Dr. Lee invites listeners to reconsider how rural spaces, practices, and identities are composed and contested in contemporary Japan.