Utilization of people with intellectual disabilities in the production of Edo Kimekomi Dolls : Consideration of value-added products made by people with disabilities

研究の概要(英文)：This paper considers the possibility of value-added products made by people with disabilities that generate high profits. Low wages for people with severe disabilities are one of the problems in employment support service for people with disabilities. The author thinks the important issue is how to continue to make value-added products with workers with disabilities. This paper focuses on “traditional crafts” as a candidate for value-added products made by people with disabilities. In Section II, the author summarizes the current situation of employment for people with disabilities, the problems about vocational aid centers products, and the values of traditional craft industries in the region. In Section III, the author introduces the efforts of the Iwami-Welfare Society, which produces traditional crafts with workers with disabilities. The Iwami-Welfare Society produces Iwami Kagura costumes, which are traditional crafts of Shimane Prefecture, and has realized monthly wages that greatly exceed the national average. From Section IV onward, this paper focuses on the “Edo Kimekomi Dolls” from among the many traditional crafts, considering the feasibility of production by people with intellectual disabilities. In Section IV, the author surveys the doll studios in Tokyo and Saitama prefectures, where Edo Kimekomi Dolls are produced, and describes the production process, product development, and sales. In Section V, the author instructs a person with severe intellectual disability, on how to tuck the edge of the cloth into the groove of the doll’s body. And the author describes the main points of the instruction. There are processes that people with intellectual disabilities can work on in the production of Edo Kimekomi Dolls, which work under a division of labor system. It is important to create products that are highly competitive in the doll market by utilizing part-time workers and collaborating with specialists such as traditional craftsmen.