As mentioned in the previous chapters, Japanese crafts in the contemporary context have several names, such as kogei, mingei, kurafuto. Besides that there are several different names derived from the same terms, such as dento-kogei, shin-mingei, shin-kogei, and so on. According to observations and field interviews (as was shown in the chapter two), traditional crafts in Japan in the contemporary context can be divided at least into four categories, types A to D.
Lacquer ware that belongs to the A type has several features. They are as follows: created based on order and produced in a large quantity, using machine at the half first of production, and handmade in the finishing stage. This type of craft encourages economic improvement. Even though the mass production of handmade crafts would not be able to compete with similar machine-produced objects, this type will be the primary support for the craftsperson’s economy. This can be realized as long as the craftspeople can provide the best handmade quality within the provided time.
On the other hand, the continuity in producing type B lacquerware will keep society paying respect to a high-quality craft objects. Ordinary people mostly appreciate the objects in exhibitions and not through the experience of using the crafts. This type of craft could also be promising income for the high-skilled craftsperson whose name is identified with good work. As for the means of preservation of traditional crafts, this type becomes a motivation for young
craftspeople to hold on what is recognized as traditional beauty. Moreover, this type shows the highest standard toward which younger craftsperson tries to reach. This type of craft has become the highest standard of handmade craft in the society.
Type C in the Japanese traditional crafts allows craftspeople to express their ideas more freely by using their skills. This type would be the best example of the modern representation of bijutsu kogei in Meiji Japan. In this type of product, the craftspeople try to create new forms either as a self-expression or as a design solution.
Type C also prepares the field where craft, art, and design may mingle in one object.
This type also would be the best way to revitalize the traditional craft in a globalized era. This is because the appreciation of type C crafts will stimulate craftspeople, particularly the younger generation, to keep creating and utilizing the existed traditional techniques in many new forms.
Type D includes craft objects which could be produced in a larger quantity.
The aim is to recreate what was known as mingei to become more widely produced by both the old and new techniques, and to be able to fulfil the market’s needs.
However, the production of new mingei has a higher aim than merely producing in a large quantity. This type of craft is a way to offer the experience of using craft products through many adaptations in the producing process and forms. They are good examples of the effort to bring traditional crafts more familiar to the young
generation that has no experience using authentic traditional crafts in daily life.
However, when these objects are not very well executed, then the original object’s value is degraded, which then brings them to the level of similar industrially manufactured objects.
As mentioned earlier, Japan has more than just one aesthetic of the traditional idea of beauty, especially in the term of arts. These values are applied as well in the field of the Japanese traditional craft in contemporary society.
A respected bijutsu kogei (or also known as dento kogei) has to display the requisite techniques and materials. A good respect in processing material should be shown, and at the same time the final result should be flawless. The higher level of the craftsperson’s technique should be evidence, and the final product should be flawless. The very refined beauty of these objects is not appreciated from the point of utility.
On the other hand, utensils for the tea ceremony should not be ostentatiously beautiful. They are supposed to show a quiet and solemn beauty. All things inside the tearoom, and the tearoom itself, should be in harmony with other elements, and gaudiness is not welcomed. The tea ceremony world belongs to the upper class of the society. Despite the roughness and poorness of the appearance of these craft objects, they are appreciated very highly in the ceremonial circle. Because of this, tea utensils and other crafts object related to the tea ceremony are made exclusively and sold at an exceptionally high price.
Mingei’s ideals, which emphasize the sincerity and frankness of the maker, resulted in the simple and rough look of the objects. The mingei movement also created a system where the craftspeople were allowed to produce their works in larger quantities because it was expected that the common people could own the craft and
used it in everyday life. Not only does the object have to be a familiar one in the daily life of the ordinary people, but mingei objects are also expected to be sold at an affordable price.
Each and every traditionally handmade object possibly contains one or more of the values of “beauty” mentioned above. It is not necessary to classify traditional crafts objects based on these values. The craft products show that these values exist, either as a single value or in combination.
The categorization of crafts has no impact on craftspeople. Their objective is just to make useful and beautiful works. The existence of different crafts exhibitions and groups, however, is a representation of awareness among the craftspeople of their identity and styles. It is important to recognize this phenomenon, since the concept and objectives that unite certain types of crafts are to be found in the products.
General users of functional objects pay less attention to the maker, the creating process, and where the materials come from. The user of traditional crafts, however, finds extra value in the products. The classification of the craft products might help to raise the awareness of common people regarding the values of the crafts invisible to the eyes.
Craftspeople or artisans in Japan are often much more than people who makes crafts. It is natural for a craftsperson to be merely a person who formerly was
engaged in craft making as an occupation. They have skills and make a living using them. At this level, they could not only work by themselves, but also for other craftspeople or in a “maker,” the Japanese term for craft factory. Some also consider it as a process of learning, such as becoming apprentice or deshi. Some craftspeople continue to be this type of craftsperson; during deshi period, they might set up their workshop or work in someplace else. As for more experienced craftspeople, not only
are they considered as people who possess advanced skills or dexterity, but they may also pursuit certain ideals. In other words, after reaching certain level of experience as a working craftsperson, his or her ideals may become sublime, making craft becomes a way of life in which the craftsperson puts all of his or her efforts in making their works, not merely to make thing, but more likely to establish certain attitudes towards materials and towards other people who use their works. Such ideals are objectified in their final works.
As mentioned in the first chapter, craft has three elements: the decorative arts, the vernacular, and the politics of work. Considering these three elements, the
traditional crafts of Japan can be analyzed as below.
The root of traditional crafts in Japan cannot be separated from the history of the traditional art. Since the initiation of tea ceremony as part of the Way, everything related to the tea ceremony is “art.” Even though the creators of these utensils refer themselves as craftspeople, their products are appreciated on a different level from mere crafts. The emergence of mingei movement on 1920’s then gradually promoted
“mere” craft or folk art. By this time, the image of folk craft was elevated and gained societal appreciation. In the current context, the traditional craft of Japan cannot clearly being distinguished from traditional art. This is not because traditional craft and the folk craft originated from the same roots, but because the characteristics of both represent a very particular Japanese traditional identity.
As for the second element, the vernacular, they are well maintained by the standards of dento kogei. The other types of crafts might adopt un-vernacular
elements, such those as taken from the contemporary crafts, and still be considered as the traditional crafts. The vernacular is identified according to how a craft was made or how it was used. The use of crafts as part of traditional customs, for example in
the tea ceremony, is supposedly considered as the vernacular.
The distinctive characteristics of the Japanese traditional crafts are influenced by the two factors, the tea ceremony and the mingei movement. These characteristics are particular to Japan and cannot be found in traditional crafts in other countries.