Shigaraki Ware Exhibition to Be Held at UMMA from Nov. 12!!

2022年11月10日

Overview of the Exhibition

Name

CLAY AS SOFT POWER

SHIGARAKI WARE IN POSTWAR AMERICA AND JAPAN

Period

Saturday, November 12, 2022 to Sunday, May 7, 2023

Venue

University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA)

Points of the exhibition

- The exhibition features approximately 50 historic and contemporary Shigaraki ware works and related materials. The contemporary Shigaraki exhibits include those by American artists who pursued their creation in Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture.

- In the 1960s, many Shigaraki ware articles began to be placed in the collections of the American art world.

This exhibition showcases how Shigaraki ware contributed to the enhancement of the historic and cultural value of Japan in America at the time when the image of Japan was changing from that of an enemy in the Second World War to that of an ally in the Cold War, as well as what influence the ceramics had on potters in America.

Comment from Natsu Oyobe, a UMMA curator

In America after the end of the Second World War, exhibitions for introducing Japanese folk art and large biscuit-ware pots were held one after another, and interaction between ceramic artists was encouraged. Behind this was an attempt made during the Cold War to change the impression of Japan, once an enemy of America, from “belligerent and mechanical” to “friendly and simple.” It is presumed that the history of biscuit ware used for daily lives and its plain appearance exactly fit the image of Japan that America wanted to present. The intention to establish an amicable relationship with Japan through such soft power was shared on both government and private levels. Between the 1960s and 1980s, many time-honored Shigaraki ware pots were collected and exhibited by museums in America.

Shigaraki is geographically close to Kyoto, home to many antique shops and foreign residents, and many Shigaraki ware items were preserved at farmers’ houses and other places. This has given Shigaraki advantages in terms of both collection of works and interaction between creators, resulting in Shigaraki’s high profile in America. Even today, it is safe to say that Shigaraki ware is the most well-known in America of the six ancient Japanese kilns.

[Special Exhibition’s Website]

https://umma.umich.edu/exhibitions/2022/clay-as-soft-power-shigaraki-ware-in-postwar-america-and-japan

What is Shigaraki Ware?

Tracing back to the second half of the Kamakura period (late 13th century), Shigaraki ware has always satisfied the needs of the times by presenting a wide variety of items. The clay of Shigaraki, kaolin from granite in the Kobiwako group, is sticky. When fired, it becomes warm scarlet with feldspar and silica particles emerging. Together with natural glaze, this adds a distinctive accent to the ware’s appearance. Shigaraki is renowned even abroad as a prominent ceramic center in Japan.

[Video of an interview with Louise Cort, one of the first curators to have promoted Shigaraki ware overseas] (*using YouTube)

https://youtu.be/tBAngmpcQyc

Artists from around the World Engaged in Creation and Interaction in Shigaraki

In 1990, Shiga Prefecture opened the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, a ceramic-themed facility for many purposes, such as creation, training, and exhibition. Serving as a place for the promotion of local industries and the creation of new culture, the park plays the role of disseminating information on Shigaraki ware from Shiga Prefecture to the world. One of the facility’s projects is an artist-in-residence program, launched in 1992 to provide opportunities for potters from all over the world to create works freely in Shigaraki. The facility has received more than 1,400 artists in total from 55 countries and regions. Such artists from America include Peter Voulkos and Ken Ferguson, whose works are displayed at the exhibition. More than 100 potters have so far created works in Shigaraki while interacting with other artists staying in the area and local creators and makers.

【Website of the Artist in Residence, the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park】

https://www.sccp.jp./air-en/

Michigan-Shiga Sister State Relationship for More than 50 Years

In 1968, the Sister State Agreement was concluded between Shiga and Michigan in association with the fact that both have lakes (Lake Biwa and the Great Lakes). Since then, we have interacted to promote the preservation and conservation of the natural environment and foster friendly relations between mutual residents centered on the economy and life culture. More than 10,000 people have been engaged so far in the sister city interaction on the grass-roots level. In addition to Shiga Prefecture and the State of Michigan, 12 cities and towns in the prefecture and 14 counties and townships in the state have formed sister state relationships or friendship city relationships, making us distinguished from other local governments in Japan and the U.S. in terms of the depth of the regional bonds.

In September 2022, the Governor of the State of Michigan and the Governor of Shiga Prefecture had a talk in Chicago. They signed a confirmation letter stating that, toward the 60th anniversary of the sister state relationship (2028), the state and the prefecture would strive to promote interaction in a wide variety of fields, such as economy, tourism, and the environment, further reinforce their friendship, and place a particular importance on the interaction of the next generation.

Profile of Shiga Prefecture

Shiga Prefecture, home to Japan’s largest lake Biwa Lake, is located almost in the center of Japan, and it takes about nine minutes by train from JR Kyoto Station to JR Otsu Station in the prefectural capital. Shiga has the fourth largest number of Important Cultural Properties in Japan, following Tokyo (first),Kyoto (second), and Nara (third). “Lake Biwa - Water, Life and Prayer” and “Six Ancient Kilns - Ceramics Born and Raised in Japan” have been placed on the list on Japan Heritage by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.