Yesterday I was biking to the grocery store for my weekly shopping expedition when a giant inflatable Anpanman bounce house caught my eye. I happily took the detour and ended up in the quaintest of local craft festivals.
After eating a sub-par set of takoyaki (octopus balls) from a food stand, I took to touring the small craft booths. One table displayed intricately carved wooden key chains featuring a cute owl character, another, freshly polished leather shoes. One particularly popular booth sold handmade towels.
A saleswoman caught me eying her hand-dyed blue neckties and began pointing out the intricacies of the designs. I tried on a fishing hat made of the same material, smiled, and checked myself out in the mirror for kicks. It was about at this time that my mind finally decided to decipher the kanji characters on the sign above the booth: "Tokushima Prefecture Correctional Facility."
I immediately ripped the hat off my head and threw it back on the table. All this stuff was made by cons!
Indeed, I had happily wandered into the annual To-on City Prisoner-Made Craft Festival. The cute owl key chains I spotted earlier were no doubt carved by hands that stole or strangled. The hat I put on my head could have been submerged in dye by someone spending their entire life incarcerated. All their anger and rage funneled into that soft cloth. And I had put it on my head!
I don't even want to begin to think about the towel booth!
Once I got over my initial shock, I was able to appreciate the true craftsmanship and attention to detail present in the furnishings. Who knew jailbirds could make such a comfy chair? Huge chests of drawers and entire dining room sets could be bought and delivered anywhere in Shikoku. Take that IKEA Japan!
Also present were large lacquered wooden carvings and some fantastic inmate paintings as well. These items were on display inside a nearby elementary school gymnasium. The gymnasium contained a small walk-in section that modeled a typical group prison room. The tatami floor and low wooden table in the cell made the room look strikingly similar to my apartment.
Pictures on the wall showed the meals prisoners receive - a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, and a piece of fish. Sometimes they also got some pickles or a Yakult yogurt drink. The food actually looked pretty yummy.
My purchase from the craft festival was a plastic roll-up necktie case for a mere 10 Yen. I'd like to think that a murdered mobster's bloodstained necktie was once kept inside the very same case.
B.E.W.
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