CACL-led Rediscover project Featured on NHK BS 'Binotubo'
The Rediscover project by CACL, which transforms ceramic fragments from the Noto Peninsula earthquake into art using kintsugi, was featured on NHK BS 'Binotubo'. This initiative highlights sustainability and contributes to regional recovery.
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On April 25, 2026 (Saturday), CACL's initiative, the Rediscover project, was featured on NHK BS 'Binotubo 20th Anniversary Special'. The program showcased the process of selecting ceramic fragments—approximately 5 tons of them—stored in a warehouse, collected after the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on January 1, 2024. Guided by Robert Campbell, this provided an opportunity to widely publicize the artwork creation process.
**Rediscover project: Recomposing non-standard waste materials into artworks – utilizing ceramic fragments born from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.**
The core of the Rediscover project is connecting ceramic fragments using Noto's kintsugi techniques. In the creation of these artworks, pieces of Kutani ware, Suzu ware, and other ceramics from Ishikawa Prefecture—though from different production areas and with different techniques—are joined using a technique called 'yobitsugi' (calling together fragments), or sometimes the broken edges are softened with lacquer and presented almost as they are. Chipped bowls, broken vases. Fragments that seem to be of no use. Things that were meant to be discarded are reborn in a completely different form, or, with their damaged parts intact, rise again in an imperfect state. Over the past two years, the appearance of these ceramic fragments, rejoined with gold or colored lacquer and regaining new brilliance, has garnered empathy and resonance, leading to numerous exhibition opportunities both domestically and internationally.
**Through two exhibitions at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa – The journey and future of the Rediscover project.**
In 2024, Yuko Hasegawa, former director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and her curator team visited the studio in Nomi City. Beyond the post-disaster efforts, they recognized the aesthetic value and significance of joining fragments with lacquer as art. The project's inclusion in the museum's large-scale 20th-anniversary special exhibition became a landmark for the Rediscover project. In 'Dancing with all things – Ecology of Empathy' (November 2024 – March 2025), which brought together about 60 artists from over 10 countries and regions worldwide, the project participated as an exhibiting artist. It presented ceramic fragment compositions residing on the horizon, embodying a thought-provoking perspective on a 'new ecology' (ecosystem) where various elements—biological, environmental, and natural—intertwine complexly, transcending human boundaries.
Furthermore, in September 2025, Hidenobu Keizuka of Wajima lacquerware from the Rediscover project again collaborated on 'Shaped by Many', a work created with Otobong Nkanga, who had a solo exhibition at the same museum. A performance involving Keizuka was also held during the exhibition period, making it an opportunity to develop the Rediscover project into a larger context on the grand stage of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, which connects art and society.
CACL's endeavor to find new value in 'non-standard' ceramic fragments has, since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, strengthened its belief in connecting the time and memories associated with these fragments, starting with collaborative work with artisans in the affected areas. The waste materials we observe, beyond those from disasters, also overlap with the forms of people and things that have been marginalized and made invisible by accidents or environmental impacts, pushed outside the scope of society's 'normality'.
The Rediscover project, which has itself evolved through its encounter with the 'other' that is lacquer, continues to develop as a group challenging alternative expressions of ceramic fragments through traditional craft techniques, questioning artistic value to the world. It includes Kaori Okuyama (design director), Hidenobu Keizuka (Wajima lacquerware artisan), and one lacquer artisan who joined in April this year.
**NHK BS 'Binotubo 20th Anniversary Special' Aired on April 25 (Saturday).**
The program can be viewed on NHK On Demand and U-NEXT.
*"Binotubo" is a long-running program that has shed light on the aesthetic sense and charm of handmade crafts rooted in Japanese daily life. The special edition on April 25 (Saturday) was aired to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its broadcast. In the program, Robert Campbell visited CACL's studio and gallery in Nomi City, and the process of transforming ceramic fragments into new artworks was introduced.
**CACL Co., Ltd. Company Profile**
Company Name: CACL Co., Ltd.
Official Website: https://cacl.jp/
Location: 56 Ri, Tatsunokuchi-machi, Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, 923-1245 Japan
Representative: Junichi Okuyama
Established: June 1, Reiwa 5 (2023)
Tel: 0761-48-8004
CACL conducts various expressive activities with three main pillars: Art (Rediscover project), Material Regeneration (KAKERA), and Social Work (Welfare Business).
**Rediscover project: Recomposing non-standard waste materials into artworks – utilizing ceramic fragments born from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.**
The core of the Rediscover project is connecting ceramic fragments using Noto's kintsugi techniques. In the creation of these artworks, pieces of Kutani ware, Suzu ware, and other ceramics from Ishikawa Prefecture—though from different production areas and with different techniques—are joined using a technique called 'yobitsugi' (calling together fragments), or sometimes the broken edges are softened with lacquer and presented almost as they are. Chipped bowls, broken vases. Fragments that seem to be of no use. Things that were meant to be discarded are reborn in a completely different form, or, with their damaged parts intact, rise again in an imperfect state. Over the past two years, the appearance of these ceramic fragments, rejoined with gold or colored lacquer and regaining new brilliance, has garnered empathy and resonance, leading to numerous exhibition opportunities both domestically and internationally.
**Through two exhibitions at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa – The journey and future of the Rediscover project.**
In 2024, Yuko Hasegawa, former director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and her curator team visited the studio in Nomi City. Beyond the post-disaster efforts, they recognized the aesthetic value and significance of joining fragments with lacquer as art. The project's inclusion in the museum's large-scale 20th-anniversary special exhibition became a landmark for the Rediscover project. In 'Dancing with all things – Ecology of Empathy' (November 2024 – March 2025), which brought together about 60 artists from over 10 countries and regions worldwide, the project participated as an exhibiting artist. It presented ceramic fragment compositions residing on the horizon, embodying a thought-provoking perspective on a 'new ecology' (ecosystem) where various elements—biological, environmental, and natural—intertwine complexly, transcending human boundaries.
Furthermore, in September 2025, Hidenobu Keizuka of Wajima lacquerware from the Rediscover project again collaborated on 'Shaped by Many', a work created with Otobong Nkanga, who had a solo exhibition at the same museum. A performance involving Keizuka was also held during the exhibition period, making it an opportunity to develop the Rediscover project into a larger context on the grand stage of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, which connects art and society.
CACL's endeavor to find new value in 'non-standard' ceramic fragments has, since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, strengthened its belief in connecting the time and memories associated with these fragments, starting with collaborative work with artisans in the affected areas. The waste materials we observe, beyond those from disasters, also overlap with the forms of people and things that have been marginalized and made invisible by accidents or environmental impacts, pushed outside the scope of society's 'normality'.
The Rediscover project, which has itself evolved through its encounter with the 'other' that is lacquer, continues to develop as a group challenging alternative expressions of ceramic fragments through traditional craft techniques, questioning artistic value to the world. It includes Kaori Okuyama (design director), Hidenobu Keizuka (Wajima lacquerware artisan), and one lacquer artisan who joined in April this year.
**NHK BS 'Binotubo 20th Anniversary Special' Aired on April 25 (Saturday).**
The program can be viewed on NHK On Demand and U-NEXT.
*"Binotubo" is a long-running program that has shed light on the aesthetic sense and charm of handmade crafts rooted in Japanese daily life. The special edition on April 25 (Saturday) was aired to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its broadcast. In the program, Robert Campbell visited CACL's studio and gallery in Nomi City, and the process of transforming ceramic fragments into new artworks was introduced.
**CACL Co., Ltd. Company Profile**
Company Name: CACL Co., Ltd.
Official Website: https://cacl.jp/
Location: 56 Ri, Tatsunokuchi-machi, Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, 923-1245 Japan
Representative: Junichi Okuyama
Established: June 1, Reiwa 5 (2023)
Tel: 0761-48-8004
CACL conducts various expressive activities with three main pillars: Art (Rediscover project), Material Regeneration (KAKERA), and Social Work (Welfare Business).