For more than a millennium, sakan artisans have coaxed earth, sand, and lime into living architecture—walls that are not only strong but "breathe," inhaling humidity and exhaling dryness to suit Japan's four distinct seasons. One enduring testament is the 7th-century earthern wall of Hōryū-ji Temple, its layers of tamped clay still intact after ~1,300 years, proof of rammed earth's quiet resilience. Yet the craft has teetered on the brink: from some 300,000 plasterers in 1975, barely 70,000 remain today, most over sixty, as post-war construction turned to drywall and vinyl finishes.

Against that fading backdrop stands Harada Sakan. Founded in Tokyo in 1949 and now led by third-generation president Muneaki Harada, the company weaves "dreams and romanticism" into proposal-based plastering that marries heritage with invention—think shikkui walls tinted with coffee grounds or lipstick pigments.