Japan Traditional Crafts Aoyama Square is a gallery and shop in Tokyo that houses and displays traditional arts and crafts from all over Japan officially designated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. Many of the items are the product of specialty regional crafting arts in Japan such as nishijin weaving, urushi lacquerware, or Ryukyuu glass. Another such craft is that of Hakone Marquetry (Hakone Yosegi Zaiku).

The art makes use of Hakone's natural resources (a wide variety of trees) to produce a unique woodwork, with the goal of creating mosaics and finely detailed patterns, and taking advantage of different colored woods to make as natural a craft as possible. In this utterly serene video from Japan Traditional Crafts Aoyama Square, you can see the meticulous and challenging adjustments and steps that go into putting together a work of art. Finished items are usually colorful boxes to store keepsakes, but the same process can be applied to cabinets and even toys.

It's a beautiful and strangely rewarding video, so do yourself a favor and check it out!

By - grape Japan editorial staff.