30th Anniversary Exhibition

Resonance: Kanjiro Kawai × Shoji Hamada - From the Tamesaburo Yamamoto Collection 

Tamesaburo Yamamoto (1893-1966), the first president of Asahi Breweries (now Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.), enthusiastically supported the mingei (folk crafts) movement from its early phase. The main part of the museum's Tamesaburo Yamamoto Collection comprises works by Kanjiro Kawai (1890-1966) and Shoji Hamada (1894-1978), both being key figures in the mingei movement. This exhibition traces the lives and artistic developments of these two artists, who met during their student days and remained closely connected through a lifelong friendship.

Kawai and Hamada met each other during their student days at Tokyo Higher Technical School (now Institute of Science Tokyo) and worked together at the Kyoto Municipal Ceramics Laboratory. In 1926, they began the mingei movement together with a few other people, including philosopher Soetsu Yanagi. Kawai and Hamada maintained a close friendship throughout their lives. Tracing their footsteps, this exhibition will showcase works of the two artists, who pursued their own ways of art while resonating with each other.