Soetsu Yanagi Ceramics

Yanagi sōetsu espoused anonymity functionality and simplicity as a corrective to the industrialism and self aggrandizement characteristic of the age.

Soetsu yanagi ceramics. Over the last 50 years in particular chronic excess has led to a world of big business globalisation overpopulation and all the destructive attributes these create. Soetsu yanagi known as first advocator of the mingei movement was born in tokyo in 1889. From a teapot to a cup these are singular objects to cherish. He took part in the launch of the magazine shirakaba in 1910 and actively worked as a central member of the shirakaba literary school.

Then he began to take a deep interest in arts and the philosophy of religion. Yanagi s buddhist aesthetic is deeply concerned with that aspect of truth and beauty described by such words as nakedness humility and holy poverty in the sense of st. On japan 1961 1962 bernard leach wrote. His son sori yanagi is a renowned industrial designer.

In 1916 yanagi made his first trip to korea out of curiosity about korean crafts the trip led to the establishment of the korean folk crafts museum in 1924 and the coining of the term mingei by yanagi potters hamada shōji 1894 1978 and kawai kanjirō 1890. In league with potters such as the british artist bernard leach hamada shōji and kawai kanjirō yanagi engendered a robust charming type of ceramic which recalled. Soetsu yanagi was a philosopher buddhist aesthetician and critic and the central thinker of the mingei movement. In leach we see thought and philosophy in action.

Non egotistic art was his concern there he spoke to the west as an. Shoji s eyes are directed at his hands expressing a total body concentration similar to that of john lockwood kipling s image of the native craftsman. In hamada we find action and warmth in the very human and necessary activity of pot making. Yanagi was born in 1889 to a wealthy tokyo family.

Dec 3 2017 in his beyond east and west memoirs portraits essays book ch. Other articles where yanagi sōetsu is discussed. Yanagi soetsu and bernard leach both look at shoji hamada s hands as they make contact with the clay form.