Mingeikan visitors even today can enjoy the vibrant quality of folk crafts and sense the living spirit of the Mingei philosophy. We at the Mingeikan take great pride in keeping alive the Mingei tradition. Click Here for Museum Hours and Access Map.

MINGEIKAN COLLECTION Onna Komuso  Female ltinerant Priest Otsu-e Painting 18th Century H = 48.7 cm  W = 21.5 cm The Mingeikan Collection consists of approximately 17,000 items made by anonymous crafts people mainly from Japan, but also from China, Korea, England, Africa, and elsewhere. The collection includes pottery, paintings, textiles, metal work, lacquer ware, wood work, bamboo work, stone work, stone rubbings, leather work, glass work, slipware, and much more. Most of the pieces were selected by Yanagi Soetsu, the founder of the Museum, based on precise criteria defined by Yanagi himself. Our collection also includes many pieces by early and influential members of the Mingei (folk craft) Movement, including work by Hamada Shoji, Kawai Kanjiro, Bernard Leach, Munakata Shiko, and Serizawa Keisuke. See the Early Members page to view their pieces. Most of the pieces at the Mingeikan are Japanese in origin, but one room at the Museum is always devoted to works from the Korean Yi Dynasty (1392 - 1910 AD). This room is a tribute to Korean arts and folk crafts. Yanagi's early fascination with Korean art sparked his interest in the beauty of anonymous arts and crafts in the East, and led him to develop his theory on Mingei.