Episode 1: Dulcicraft

Dulcicraft

Repairing Folk Instruments (Dulcimers, harps, and nickelharpas)

📍 Yokohama, Japan

The Dulcicraft Website: https://dulcicraft.com/

Thoughts and Reflections:

I had an inkling for this project for a long time. Before the summer (2024) began, I made a stance that if I were to do it, I needed to commit fully, as this wasn't to be a small undertaking.

Atsushi-san was the first person I went to visit/film. He lived conveniently close to me. I was eager to film because I had a long list of instrument makers I planned to visit in the upcoming months, though prior to reaching out to them, I needed some credibility to my name, and thus needed to film an episode before travelling. 

I had emailed Atsushi-san and he invited me to his workshop at the beginning of June. I didn't tell him about the filming plan yet, because
1) Without any credibility to my name, it was difficult to ask through email.

2) Japanese people are generally a bit more hesitant, and thus making a good first impressions and asking in-person was the best way to ensure a "yes".

So I brought my limited camera supplies, and took a bus over to his workshop in the hills. He was more than friendly on first impression, and was gracious to show me his spaces. When I was ready, though still extremely nervous, I introduced my project, and though a bit hesitant, he agreed. 

The visit was wonderful, and went on for longer than expected (something that has been a theme for many of my future visits). I had asked to show him any repairs he was doing, because I knew those video shots wouild be valuable and educational, though he was insistent that he wasn't working on anything meaningful at the moment. I bought a CD of his album before I left. Though in order to listen to it, and burn it onto my computer, I had to borrow a dusty CD player from my workplace.

After the visit, I labored away at cutting the best version that I could. After a few days of editing, it was complete. This video was so crucial to the beginning of my project, as it was what I used to introduce my project to many other instrument makers, as I began to grow my artistic portfolio.

So a major thank you to Atsushi for taking a risk on my project and his support to get this project off the ground and moving.