In Asia, June is traditionally the most popular month for weddings -- as is evident from the ceremonies you'll see happening around you every weekend. It's timely, then, that the current exhibition at the Mingeikan (Japan Folk Crafts Museum) offers a glimpse of the practices and iconography of Korean wedding ceremonies, as well as a broader look at Korean craft art.
"Soetsu Yanagi and Korean Crafts: The Great Encounter" is culled from the superlative collection of Korean crafts of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), owned by philosopher and scholar Soetsu Yanagi (1889-1961), the founder of the Mingeikan. Yanagi wrote, "My encounter with [these] pieces was a critical one [that] determined the course of my whole life."
The pieces Yanagi was describing span the entire range of Joseon popular culture, including ceramics, folk art paintings, metalwork, as well as carved wooden and stone objects. They are the work of "unknown craftsmen," hailed by Yanagi for the innate beauty of their unpretentious art.