Yakashima

Yakishime: Earth Metamorphosis, focuses on a ceramic technique, yakishime, firing unglazed wares at high temperatures. While one of the most basic means of producing ceramics,
yakishime has developed in distinctive directions in Japan. This exhibition introduces an aspect of Japanese culture by examining yakishime from the earliest examples to
contemporary work.

This exhibition introduces yakishime ceramics, which developed in distinctive directions in Japan, as a part of Japanese traditional culture. It explores the history of yakishime, from its origins to the present, its use in tea wares and utensils for serving food, and its emergence as objects d'art. While the works exhibited include examples of innovative styles that go beyond the conventional concept of yakishime, this exhibition also introduces yakishime in the context of the tea ceremony and washoku, Japanese cuisine. It will offer visitors from other cultures, to whom these simple but profoundly tasteful ceramics may be unfamiliar, an excellent opportunity to experience a sensibility and aesthetic unique to Japan.


The earliest known yakishime wares date to the fourth or fifth centuries. It was in the twelfth through the seventeenth centuries, however, that this technique became solidly established
and used in a substantial part of the production at major ceramic centers in Japan, including Bizen, Shigaraki, and Tokoname. This exhibition presents functional yakishime wares of two types: utensils used in the tea ceremony, a major influence on the development of Japanese traditional culture, and tablewares that have become an essential part of everyday life in Japan. It also presents a wide range of non-utilitarian objects (objets) created by contemporary ceramic artists working in yakishime. We hope that visitors will, through experiencing this
generous array of yakishime wares, both become aware of the depth and diversity of Japanese culture and gain insight into its creativity.

In New Zealand, this exhibition will be co-organized by the Japan Foundation and diplomatic missions (The Embassy of Japan in NZ (Wellington), the Consulate-General of Japan in
Auckland (Auckland), Consular Office of Japan in Christchurch (Christchurch) with the cooperation of the art galleries, museums and cultural organizations in each city.