We at Jcollector have currently been enjoying a variety of
summer fairs and festivals throughout California and around the
country. Summer is a fantastic time for celebrating traditions
and culture. Japanese festivals and community events abound, and
allow us to share in and enjoy Japan’s rich heritage. They are
also a great way to learn about Japan’s varied arts movements
and the objects which illustrate them. For example, we thought
this week’s blog should be about Mingei, or Japanese folk art.
Mingei literally means “art of the common folk.” The word was
invented in 1925, by Yanagi Soetsu, a philosopher and art
critic, who established the folk art movement in Japan with two
of his ceramicist friends, Hamada Shoji and Kawai Kanjiro. The
main distinction between Mingei and fine art is that the term
“fine art” usually refers to objects with decorative or
aesthetic value. Fine art objects are primarily pieces with
little to no functional use. Mingei pieces are almost always
functional and have purpose beyond t