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December 23, 2024
 

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MINGEI

Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 27, 2024
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
The largest solo show ever of a Black artist in Japan is an absorbing history lesson that draws a line between Chicago and Aichi.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 21, 2022
Japanese folk art opens a door to Black American identity
American artist Theaster Gates introduces 'Afro-mingei,' an aesthetic that combines Black identity and Japanese craft art, to the Aichi Triennale.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / Longform
May 21, 2022
The enduring influence of mingei design
What began as a folk art around 100 years ago has gradually worked its way into the fabric of everyday life in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Kateigaho International Japan Edition
Jan 18, 2020
A toast to mingei: The significance of unknown craftsmen
What is so special about mingei (folk crafts)? For Muneyoshi Yanagi it was significant that ordinary, unknown and largely uneducated craftsmen used natural materials to make objects that were sublimely beautiful.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Kateigaho International Japan Edition
Jan 11, 2020
A toast to mingei: Shining a light on new uses for objects both venerable and hardworking
In Jeffrey Montgomery's Lake Lugano home, items that are no longer used in everyday life in Japan, or that might even be at risk of being thrown away, find new purpose and bring new charm.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Kateigaho International Japan Edition
Jan 4, 2020
A toast to mingei: 'The finest assemblage of Japanese folk crafts outside Japan'
Today, Jeffrey Montgomery's mingei (folk crafts) collection is well-known among international dealers and many of his pieces are of a quality rarely seen today, even in Japan; some are unique.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Kateigaho International Japan Edition
Dec 28, 2019
A toast to mingei: Living with the rustic beauty of Japanese folk crafts
Jeffrey Montgomery began collecting mange (Japanese folk crafts) about 40 years ago and has now accumulated more than 800 pieces. He believes mingei is an important part of humanity's shared heritage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 9, 2019
How folk craft found its place in the art world
'Japanese Tableware' highlights the passion with which Soetsu Yanagi — one of the founding fathers of the Japanese folk crafts movement — appreciated artisanal works into his own life, displaying the actual tableware that his family used when they gathered for meals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 12, 2017
Modern lacquer recalls past splendor
Celebrated domestically and internationally for tea ceremony caddies in lacquer and mother-of-pearl inlay, as well as rather more substantial fittings such as kimono display hangers, artisan Tatsuaki Kuroda (1904-82) has finally been honored with the first Kyoto retrospective exhibition of his work....
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 18, 2017
Japan’s 'kanban' are still hanging in there
Little information remains about the personal life of the artisan Kojiro Shimizu. His personality and interests, his passions and motivations — all are shrouded in mystery. What we know is that he worked in Kyoto in the late 19th and early 20th century and that he appeared to be on good terms with...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
May 21, 2017
Blasting the past with a new vision of future fashion
Much has been made of the recent closure of the monthly print edition of Shoichi Aoki's seminal Fruits street-style magazine, with many ready to cry that it sounds the death knell for Harajuku fashion, rather than seeing it as a simple casualty of the rise of new media.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2017
Keeping up with the Joneses, Edo style
The Edo Period (1603-1868) is renowned for the flourishing of material culture — a time when major advances and innovations in Japanese folk crafts and design were prized by the burgeoning commoner class of Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Osaka.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 29, 2014
The Power of the Weave
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 4, 2014
How Japan crafted its modernization
When Japan ended its isolation in the mid-to-late-19th-century, it had lots of disadvantages compared to the other major powers. But one distinct advantage that its isolation had preserved was its craft industries and the skills of its craftsmen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 27, 2013
Everyday goods: the Japanese art of convenience
"Mingei" translates as "folk art" and is connected to objects that are made or used by ordinary people on an everyday basis. Usually this evokes hand-crafted objects, such as ceramics, baskets, items of woodwork, etc. As such, the term is evocative of the era before mass global trade. In modern Japan,...
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda and Nissan consider mutual production of vehicles, report says
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2023.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

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