Listen to “Japan’s Gorgeous, Precarious Fishing Poles”

Written by Yukari Iwatani Kane
Narrated by Nancy LeBrun

Japanese master craftsmen can command up to $100,000 for turning bamboo into a fishing pole. Yet, this time-honored craft is at the brink of extinction — and it’s not the only one. How could this happen in a country that, for centuries, has served as a model of handmade perfection?

Written by Yukari Iwatani Kane

Introduction by Anh Oppenheimer

Narrated by Nancy LeBrun

Produced by Larry Rosen

Music by Mike Snowden

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Yukari Iwatani Kane is a former staff writer for The Wall Street Journal and Reuters and the author of “Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs.” She teaches reporting at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, and her work has appeared in a variety of other publications, such as NewYorker.com and the MIT Technology Review.
Nancy LeBrun is a multiple Emmy award-winning documentary writer and producer.