Wagasa Hatsune is a traditional Japanese umbrella studio in Yodoe-cho, Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, run by craftswoman Arisa Hasegawa. After apprenticing under a wagasa craftsman through the Yodoe Japanese Umbrella Lore Museum, she opened her own studio, crafting traditional umbrellas with a contemporary flair. All wagasa are made to order.

Wagasa, translated directly as "Japanese umbrella," are bamboo-frame umbrellas topped with an oil-coated washi canopy. They are water repellent, open and close smoothly, and are made with intricate hand technique. Wagasa have been produced in Yodoe-cho for over 200 years. Though once daily necessities, they are seen less often with the spread of Western-style umbrellas — but they remain an important part of Japanese culture, especially in Tottori, where as many as 4,000 people perform a traditional umbrella dance during the prefecture's annual Shan Shan Festival.

Tottori's climate has shaped the craft. Clouds blow in from the Sea of Japan and gather along the slopes of the Chugoku Mountains, bringing so much rain and snow that there is a local saying: "You can forget your lunch box, but don't forget your umbrella." Yodoe-cho also has an abundance of high-quality bamboo, and wagasa made here are particularly durable. The canopies use Tottori's prized Inshu washi, which is pasted to the frames and oiled. In the past, thousands of oiled wagasa could be seen on summer days drying in the sun at the nearby seashore.

Hasegawa has been crafting wagasa for 15 years. In the past, when wagasa were more common, studios employed multiple craftspeople who divided the work between them. Operating her studio on her own, Hasegawa sources the bamboo ribs from other craftspeople and carries out the rest of the process herself. The feel of a wagasa in-hand and the sound of rain on its canopy are quietly arresting, and the natural materials and patterns bring color to even the greyest days.