Hyoji Kitagawa (born 1936) is the second son of Heirô Kitagawa, the 17th generation head of the Tawaraya (and holder of this important intangible cultural property). In 1988, he succeeded his father and became the 18th generation head of the Tawaraya.

Kitagawa works for the imperial household as a brocade artisan and is acclaimed for his sophisticated weaving skills. He testified his brilliant techniques to the world when reproducing the ancient Kajyu-Shishi-Jinbutsu-Monaya brocade for the Shosoin repository in Nara. Usig a magnifying glass, he studied the original brocade pattern in great detail to make a thread-by-thread transcript on a cross-section. He accomplished this extremely precise work in only three years.

In 1989, he made complex gauze brocades, such as 'nishiki', 'ra' and 'sha', to be used with votive objects at the Ise Shrine. In 1990, he made the ceremonial costumes 'gosokutai' and 'jyu-ni-tan' for the marriage of prince and princess Akishino, and also for the Emperor's coronation. In 1993, he made wedding costumes for the marriage of crown prince Naruhito to princess Masako.

In 1999, he was honored as a Living National Treasure.

Twun-Dar-Bun are appetizer vessels, exclusive to Okinawa, and are magnificent examples of Ryukyu lacquerware.
   Twun-dar-bun was originally a kind of bowl introduced from China and means in Chinese: 'bowl with meals to welcome the guest'. In Ryukyu, this bowl form became decorated using the techniques of Ryukyu lacquerware that were typically Okinawan.
   Apart from being such gorgeous vessels, the food usually presented in these containers was as sumptuous and expensive as the container itself. Such containers were often used on important occasions such as weddings and 60th-birthday celebrations. They were used on New Year holidays, too.
   It seems that the term Twun-Dar-Bun originally referred to the container itself. But now refers to the container as well as the meal inside.
  Today, the classic octagonal Twun-Dar-Bun bowl is representative of Ryukyu cuisine, and recalls the gracious past of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

In Kyoto, various ceremonies required the making of special implements and costumes. Ceremonial objects include wooden apparatuses, mirrors, flags, curtains and instruments. Ceremonial costumes include dresses, typical Heian clothing and their accessories.

Some 85% of these ceremonial objects are made in Kyoto. Production proceeds slowly as most objects and costumes are handmade.

Because the imperial court used to be based in Kyoto until the Meiji Restoration, there were a great many different ceremonies, and professionals were needed to make the ceremonial goods. In the Edo period, the Sakamoto family became renowned as craftsmen working at the Ise Shrine. Kyoto craftsmanship was more skilled than elsewhere in Japan, even before the Sakamoto family appeared.

Nowadays, the demand for ceremonial objects is increasing because traditional implements are coming back into favor for use at occasions such as weddings. As a result, more craftsmen are needed and the industry is trying to foster successors.