"In the mid-1950s, I saw an irresistible inflow of Western culture, mostly American, into war-devastated Japan. I witnessed a fading of our culture, which had been passed to us from generation to generation. As I watched the change, I felt a sense of fear that our next generation might not know what their ancestors had created and achieved. This was why I started collecting antique wares that represented their wisdom. I dreamed of a place to display them in public."
These are the words of Toru Toguri, who realized his dream by establishing the Toguri Museum of Art in Shibuya in 1987. The museum houses one of the finest Japanese porcelain collections in the world, with more than 7,000 pieces of perfection in clay, making it a must-see for any pottery enthusiast.
Toguri must be downhearted, though, at the continuing loss of Japanese culture since his lofty goals first took flight. Japan once boasted a refined aestheticism that found meaning in simple pleasures and gave insights into a holistic view of man's relation with nature. Now, sadly, Japan has become a throwaway, wasteful society that has lost the ability to see profound realities in the everyday.