The Charm of Folk Crafts

MINGEI is an abbreviated Japanese term meaning “folk crafts” coined by the intellectualist Muneyoshi Yanagi along with Kanjiro Kawai, and Shoji Hamada, who shared a similar aesthetic sense. They called the tools used in daily life, created by the hands of nameless craftsmen, “MINGEI” or “folk crafts.” The functionality of these tools gives them a beauty and life of their own, comparable to that of other works of art. Believing that the folk art movement, which was born from the climate of each region and was rooted in daily life, possessed a “healthy beauty,” they presented and advocated the concepts of new “views and values of beauty.”
In addition to the works of Kanjiro Kawai, Shoji Hamada, and Keisuke Serizawa, each of whom played an important role in the folk art movement, this exhibition will also include exceptional examples of Ly Dynasty porcelain, which were introduced by Muneyoshi Yanagi through the MINGEI movement.
We hope you enjoy the “healthy beauty” of the craft and charm of folk art.