Miyagawa Kosai is a name that is synonymous with Kyo-yaki to many people. There’s no name that’s shaped the art more according to some scholars. Rather than debate whether or not this is true, it’s better to look at the facts and allow individual people to appreciate art within its appropriate historical context.
The oldest […]
It may help readers to better understand the story of Snow Country by Kawabata Yasunari. The novel tells the tale of a love interest that occurs at a remote hot springs onsen in Yuzawa, though the author doesn’t actually ever give the town a name in the book itself. Men traveling to the town […]
Tamba in Hyogo Prefecture is perhaps one of the best-known modern cities where traditional yakimono arts continue to be a major way of life. This is perhaps ironic, however, as the town itself is still rather small. Back in 2004 the modern structure of Tamba was realigned.
Sannan, Kaibara, Kasuga, Hikami, Aogaki and Ichijima made […]
Those who appreciate permanent displays should have a look at the Works of Living National Treasures and Great Masters exhibit at the Crafts Gallery at the National Museum of Modern Art. The exhibit itself is small, but it’s not going away any time soon. It’s part of a program that presents the work of […]
Ikebana International has 165 chapters of their wonderful organization in sixty different countries around the world. They’ve been in existence since 1956, and were initially founded in Japan. Their branch in New York holds a full exhibition once a year in the metropolitan area. Amazingly it opened only one year after the original branch […]
The Sculpture Objects Functional Art + Design or SOFA gallery is presented by the Masterworks of Contemporary and Modern Art and Design. SOFA Chicago will be celebrating 20 years in October. The Chicago art exhibition will run from October 31 until November 3, 2013 out on Navy Pier. The organization always attracts a good […]
Most people with an interest in collecting Japanese ceramics have come across chawan tea bowls. For that matter, anyone with a passing interest in traditional Japanese life has probably come into contact with these humble but useful pieces of yakimono history. They’re really quite ubiquitous.
A chawan is a bowl that’s used for the preparation […]
The term tokkuri refers to the server that comes with a sake set. More often than not a tokkuri has a bulbous body that forms a tapered narrow neck as one’s eye moves up from the center of the object. Nevertheless, they come in a variety of different shapes.
Heated sake is generally warmed by […]
Artists with a hardcore interest in chemistry have picked apart the macro crystallization process, and come up with a number of various chemical formula designed to help artists produce the best pieces possible. That being said, most of these studies took place outside of Japan. That means that they weren’t nearly as focused on […]
As the name might suggest Seto yakimono ware originally came from the village of Seto. One of the Six Ancient Kilns was located in Seto. Since it was such an important part of ceramics history, the village actually lends its name to the generic Japanese word for pottery.
Numerous Japanese speakers use the term setomono […]
