TOKYO, JAPAN.- The Mingeikan Folk Crafts Museum in Japan presents the exhibit 70th Anniversary of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum. Special Exhibition of the Yanagi Soetsu Collection In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, a special exhibition of approximately 400 treasures from the museum's collection with be on display. Yanagi Soetsu, the founder of the museum, collected about 17,000 pieces of art over a half century.

This special exhibition focuses on the most exemplary handicrafts from Yanagi's collection, ranging from pottery and painting to textiles, dyed cloth, and woodwork. The exhibit will also highlight the calligraphy and writings of Yanagi, the beautiful bindings of Serizawa Keisuke, and the handicrafts of other beloved folk-craft artists. Exhibit pieces were selected that best reflect the Mingei philosophy of founder Yanagi Soetsu.

The museum holds approximately 17,000 items made by anonymous craftspeople mainly from Japan, but also from China, Korea, Africa, England, and elsewhere. The collection includes pottery, paintings and scrolls, textiles, metal work, lacquer ware, wood work, bamboo work, stone work, stone rubbings, sculpture, leather work, straw work, glass work, dolls, slipware, and other crafts. It also includes many pieces by the earliest and influential members of the Mingei (folk crafts) Movement, including work by Hamada Shoji, Kawai Kanjiro, Bernard Leach, Munakata Shiko, and Serizawa Keisuke. Most of the pieces in the collection were originally selected by Yanagi himself, based on precise criteria defined by Yanagi. Please visit the Gallery pages to view nearly 200 pieces in the collection. The Mingeikan also runs a Museum Shop, where visitors can purchase folk crafts from around Japan.