Japanese Handicraft Essay

As a conclusion, Mingei and nationalism can be perceived as fundamentally interwoven through Japanese handicrafts. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, many factors came to play a part in bringing the Japanese spirit to the forefront of craftsmen minds, whether as reason to bring attention to themselves and their own work or as a way of providing necessary utensils to the average Japanese home. The efforts of the Mingei movement and the Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition cannot be ignored. Yanagi can be said to have foreseen this radical decline in traditional styles and if not for his and his fellow founders collecting and preserving crafts in the Japanese Folk Art Museum, many of the regional methods and styles could be lost today. After the destruction of the war and …show more content…

Perhaps if I had the chance to observe these crafts in person and truly get a feel of their character I would have a better understanding of their nationalistic expression. As it is what has been translated and written in western academia is all that I, as an outsider looking in, can observe. It can be argued that Japan may have lost much of its cultural tradition if not for the American taste for it. On the other hand if not for the change in lifestyle due to America’s occupation, Japanese crafts might not have needed to change so drastically to suit modern life. There is no way of saying for certain ether way. It is my belief, that Japanese handicrafts have expressed nationalistic pride throughout its history, but it is after the introduction of western influences and concepts that the country has found a need to preserve and protect it. The Mingei movement most eminently expresses the Japanese Spirit and it is important to continue to apply its basic principles to