Steve Beimel is a Californian who has been involved with the Japanese culture since the early 1970’s. He is the founder of JapanCraft21 (www.japancraft21.com), a volunteer organization dedicated to identifying viable but vulnerable traditional Japanese crafts and assisting in their revitalization. In addition to sponsoring annual craft revitalization contests, JC21 helped establish and currently funds Shinmachiya Juku, a free-of-charge school in Kyoto which teaches disappearing traditional building skills to young carpenters, plasterers and gardeners. Steve recently retired from U.S.-based Esprit Travel and Tours, a Japan culture-focused tour company that he founded in 1992 (www.esprittravel.com). He lives in the Kyoto foothills with his wife of 39 years, Ritsuko, an ikebana (flower arrangement) instructor.
