Japan: Kawai Kanjiro

Kawai Kanjiro was a poet, potter, philosopher, and leader of the Mingei Craft Movement. In 1911, he made the acquaintance of Bernard Leach, the esteemed English potter, when he was visiting Japan. He then set up his own kiln in Gojo-Zaka, Kyoto and began exhibiting works inspired by Chinese and Korean slip techniques.

Like many artistically-minded spirits, as his work grew in popularity he became more and more dissatisfied with his oeuvre. Succumbing to what we would now label a period of depression, he became something of recluse for three years. His output slowed to a trickle and he receded from public life.

In 1936, he re-emerged from his hiatus to collaborate with Soetsu Yanagi and Hamada Shoji, on the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, a domestic-museum dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of works that articulate the Mingei philosophy, which pits itself against “high art” by celebrating vernacular, quotidian aesthetics.

Shortly after the museum’s completion, he entirely redesigned his house, using the same humble materials and local traditions he observed in Japan’s rural cottages. He then devoted himself to writing books, essays, and poetry, while continuing to create ever more innovative pots for personal use in his own home.

He died on November 18, 1966, but his home, now a public museum, is a testament to the enduring strength of his artistic spirit and vision.