The term mingei (folk art) was coined by Soetsu Yanagi in 1926 to refer to common crafts that had been brushed aside and overlooked by the industrial revolution.
In the wake of the great tide of industrialism in the early part of this century, something of the human touch and spirit was lost in everyday articles of use. It was with a sense of urgency that Yanagi and his lifelong companions, the potters Bernard Leach, Shoji Hamada, Kenkichi Tomimoto and Kanjiro Kawai, sought to counteract the desire for cheap, mass-produced products by pointing to the works of ordinary craftsmen that spoke to the spiritual and practical needs of life. The mingei movement is responsible for keeping alive many traditions.
A retrospective exhibition of Kanjiro Kawai (1890-1966) is at the Japan Folk Craft Museum (Nihon Mingeikan) in Komaba, Tokyo, until June 24, with some 150 pieces. Kawai's output is so tremendous that it almost seems as if some supernatural force was guiding him. The Buddhist term tariki refers to such a reliance on grace, and it appears that Kawai had embraced it.