EARLY MEMBERS OF THE MINGEI MOVEMENT Hamada Shoji 1894 - 1978. Famous folk-art ceramist. He began a lifelong friendship with Kawai Kanjiro when the two met around 1912 as young students. Later on he befriended English potter Bernard Leach and philosopher Yanagi Soetsu; they started the folk art movement (Mingei movement) together. Hamada established his studio in Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, and his mingei works have been held in the highest esteem in Japan as well as abroad. Hamada was designated a Living National Treasure in 1955. Second director of the Mingeikan Museum. MASHIKO. Name of a town outside of Tokyo that is famous as a folk-craft village, and the home of Hamada Shoji.  Jump to Hamda Shoji page   Kawai Kanjiro 1890 - 1966. Another famous folk-art ceramist, and lifelong friend of Hamada Shoji. His output was tremendous. He was a master of glazes, and performed 10,000 experiments on glazes while still a student at the ceramic divisions of Tokyo Technical College and Kyoto Municipal Institute of Ceramics. Like his friend Hamada, Kawai never signed his work but said: "My work itself is my best signature."  Jump to Kawai Kanjiro page   Bernard Leach 1887 - 1979. English potter who befriended Yanagi and Hamada in their early years. One of the founding members of the Mingei Movement, and translator of Yanagi's book "The Unknown Craftsman."  Jump to Bernard Leach page   Munakata Shiko 1903 - 1975. Woodblock artist. Met Yanagi in 1936, and thereafter became an influential member of the Mingei Movement.  Jump to Munakata Shiko page   Serizawa Keisuke 1895 - 1984. Textile designer and dyer. Another champion of the Mingei movement, and a pioneer in stencil dyeing, who joined the Mingei Movement after reading a paper by Yanagi in 1925. Designated a Living National Treasure in 1956. His work drew much inspiration from the "bingata" dyeing process of Okinawa.  Jump to Serizawa Keisuke page     Top of Page