Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
fine art
society
asian
art in
London
2013
Four
Living
National
Treasures
of Japan
Jun Isezaki
Kunihiko
Moriguchi
Kazumi Murose
Noboru
Fujinuma
T HE FI N E A RT S O C I ET Y
Dealers since 1876
in association with
Mariko Whiteway
2013
2013
Officially supported
by The Embassy
of Japan
Four Living
National Treasures
of Japan
Jun Isezaki
Kunihiko
Moriguchi
Kazumi Murose
Noboru
Fujinuma
The Fine Art Society
in association with
Mariko Whiteway
Introduction
of traditions that were felt to be worthy of preservation and in danger of being lost, the net was cast
wider to include practices that were not necessarily in
danger of extinction but were regarded as important
for historical or artistic reasons. The appointment of
individuals as living manifestations of these traditions took place in 1955. Designations continue to
be made to this day, with one of the key events for
the showing of works by Living National Treasures
and makers working in comparable modes being the
annual Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition.
Tradition in the context of this system is, most
importantly, understood as an active process of continuity and change. The goal is not imitation of historical precursors but the exploration of inherited styles
and methods of production through the making of
objects that belong unequivocally to the present and
are imbued with a strong sense of artistic creativity.
The categorisation used for the appointment of
Living National Treasures is reflected in the structure
of the Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition,
which is divided into seven sections: ceramics,
textiles, lacquer, metal, wood and bamboo, dolls,
and a catch-all section for other disciplines such as
cloisonn, glass and inkstone carving. In the current
exhibition we have exemplars of ceramics, textiles,
lacquer and bamboo. Isezaki Jun is a master of the
distinctive clay from the Bizen area and the firing
techniques used to conjure up the rich colours
and textures for which Bizen ceramics have been
admired since Japans medieval period. Some of his
pieces are in classical vessel forms while others are
in powerfully sculpted shapes reminiscent of cast
engine blocks and similarly monolithic products of
modern industry. Moriguchi Kunihiko is also firmly
Jun Isezaki
Jun Isezaki born in 1936 was designated as a
living national treasure for work with Bizen pottery
in 2004, only the fifth in this category. Although
his craft is traditional he works in a very modern
idiom. He has brought back the traditional design
of kiln used in the middle ages a kiln that is
dug into a hillside like a tunnel. In contrast to the
more common climbing kiln, built on the top of
the slope, this makes it possible to produce a large
amount of pottery with a consistent quality.
Kunihiko Moriguchi
Kunihiko Moriguchi born in 1941 was
designated a living national treasure in 2007.
Moriguchi is a Yuzen textile artist. Yuzen is a fabric
dyeing technique dating back to the 17th century.
Kunihiko Moriguchi is preserving a skill handed
down to him by his late father, Kako Moriguchi,
a celebrated kimono painter and living national
treasure before him. Moriguchi spent three years at
Pariss cole des Arts Dcoratifs in the 1980s.and
has shown his kimonos at the annual Exhibition of
Japanese Traditional Art Crafts since 1976, and
in Paris since 1986.
Kunihiko Moriguchi
Kunihiko Moriguchi
Kunihiko Moriguchi
Kunihiko Moriguchi
Kazumi Murose
Kazumi Murose born in 1950 was nominated
a Living National Treasure in 2008. Murose
graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts
and Music at Tokyo University of the Arts.
A Makie Urushi lacquer artist, Murose has exhibited
in numerous exhibitions in Japan and abroad,
including at the British Museum in 2002
in an exhibition titled The Culture of Lacquer:
Japanese Beauty Inherited.
Noboru Fujinuma
Noboru Fujinuma born in 1945 was designated
a living national treasure in 2012. Fujinuma is
a bamboo artist, a chance trip to Paris, in 1972
changed his life. He returned home anxious to study
and revive traditional Japanese craft, choosing the
art of bamboo. After serving an apprenticeship with
Yagisawa Keizo, Fujinuma started to innovate. In
1992, at the 39th Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition,
his work received the winning Tokyo Governors
Prize and was purchased by the National Museum
of Modern Art, Tokyo.
Noboru Fujinuma
large basket
Bamboo 28 x 50 x 50 cm
plaited basket
Bamboo 22.5 x 37 x 34 cm
illustrated on back cover
THE FINE
ART SO CIET Y
Dealers since 1876
Mariko Whiteway