The 62nd Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, featuring over 600 works, is now open at MITSUKOSHI.
MITSUKOSHI | Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store
Approximately 600 selected works, chosen through a rigorous screening process, gathered in one place.
The 62nd Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition Opens
The 62nd Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Japan's largest open call exhibition for crafts, held annually to pass down excellent traditional Japanese craft techniques and foster successors, will take place from Wednesday, September 16th to Monday, September 28th, at the Gallery on the 7th floor of the Main Building and the Gallery on the 7th floor of the New Building at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store. The exhibition is organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, The Asahi Shimbun Company, and the Japan Crafts Association, among others.
Text by KAJII Makoto (OPENERS)
Gallery Talks Featuring Work Explanations Held Daily
The 62nd Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition will showcase the latest works by Living National Treasures in the seven divisions of ceramics, dyeing and weaving, lacquerware, metalwork, bamboo and woodwork, dolls, and miscellaneous crafts, alongside selected works chosen through strict examination and screening from public submissions.
This year, 606 works were selected from 1,610 submissions, with 15 award-winning pieces chosen from among them. Pictured on the left is the Takamatsu-no-miya Prize winner, "Silver Clay Glazed Ceramic Bowl" (Ceramics) by Yutaka Idoigawa, and on the right is the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Prize winner, "Braided Joint Vessel Hibiki" (Metalwork) by Takahiro Iede.
Following its opening at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store on September 16th (Wednesday), the 62nd Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition will be displayed at 12 venues nationwide (some works may be excluded depending on the venue).
OPENERS is scheduled to interview Mr. Kunihiko Moriguchi, a Yuzen dye artist and Living National Treasure who designed the shopping bags for Mitsukoshi, about the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition. We will discuss Japanese crafts that connect the past and the future.
The 62nd Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition
Dates | Wednesday, September 16 - Monday, September 28, 2015
Hours | 10:00 - 19:00 (Last day until 18:00)
Venue | Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, 7th Floor Gallery, Main Building & New Building 7th Floor Gallery
1-4-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Work Explanations (Gallery Talks) Held
At the Main Building and New Building 7th Floor venues, starting at 12:30 PM daily.
September 16 (Wed) Ceramics = Masahiro Karasawa (Chief Curator, Department of Crafts, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo)
September 18 (Fri) Dyeing and Weaving = Yuzuru Ogawa (Senior Researcher, Tokyo National Museum)
September 21 (Mon, Holiday) Lacquerware = Kenji Kaneko (Director, The Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum)
September 22 (Tue, National Holiday) Metalwork = Mitsutami Osawa (Living National Treasure)
September 23 (Wed, Holiday) Bamboo and Woodwork = Masanori Moroyama (Senior Researcher, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo)
September 24 (Thu) Dolls = Komao Hayashi (Living National Treasure)
September 25 (Fri) Miscellaneous Crafts = Akira Shirohata
* On September 19th (Sat) and 20th (Sun), award-winning artists will give explanations of their works starting at 12:30 PM.
Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store
Tel. 03-3241-3311
http://mitsukoshi.mistore.jp/store/nihombashi/event/