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Discusses the high quality of tools made in Japan. Differences between saws and planes made in Japan and made in the United States; Forging technique used to produce a samurai sword; Decline in the quality of American tools; Fanaticism and obsessive craft tradition; Apprenticeship program to become a "shokunin" or carpenter; Argument that the strain of Japanese perfectionism is in large part an outgrowth of religion.

This article comments on the book "Japanese Pottery," by James L. Bowes. A glance at the opening pages of Bowes's sumptuous book shows that the author claims to have brought together a collection of Japanese pottery so complete, as representing provinces, makers, and marks, that he ventures to imply that the Japanese themselves will in the future be obliged to appeal to it to learn about their own pottery. Bowes's numerous mistakes in confounding the name of the kiln with that of the potter, the marks which have been wrongly read, and, above all, the erroneous dates assigned to so many specimens, and come at once to the vital question as to whether the attribution of many of his pieces is correct or not. If correct, then his book may be taken as a guide, as far as it goes.

The article reports on the annual tea ceremony held at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan on April 24, 1997. The event "Australian Crafts for Tea," was organised by tea practitioner Margaret Price. The event also featured an exhibition of Australian tea utensils, including teabowls, water jars and ladles. The ceramic artists who participated in the exhibition include Gwyn Hanssen Pigott and Su Brown. Price, along with another tea master Nobutoshi Iseki served tea to 420 attendees in the garden of the Australian Embassy. They used a variety of Australian tea utensils.