Arita stands for Japanese porcelain, tradition, and a transnational history. Since the 1990s, however, the local ceramic industry has been affected by a slump in sales. Which local actors develop strategies to overcome the crisis and what role does local identity play? Against the backdrop of the Japanese decentralization and regional development policy, Cornelia Heron discusses the question of prospects for locally networked craftsmen in global capitalism. She shows how Arita's economic and cultural marginalization and their social consequences stand for the development of a new periphery at the margins of the OECD world.