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Kogei, or artisanal crafts, have been a point of local pride in Kanazawa and Ishikawa for centuries: back in the day of the samurai, modern-day Ishikawa was ruled from Kanazawa by the wealthy Maeda family. Rather than using their considerable fortune for military or political goals, they opted instead to focus on building their feudal domain into a center of arts and crafts, inviting artisans from around the country to set up shop here, and encouraging and supporting various craft industries. For centuries, Kanazawa and Ishikawa have been known nationwide for a broad variety of hand-crafted items that run the gamut from practical everyday tools to opulent decorations.
KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2024 is this year’s installment of Japan’s only art fair focused specifically on these crafts, held in a city with a profound history of artistic excellence. The event is an art fair, but also much more: it aims to show off innovative new approaches to kogei crafts, and the value of these artistic techniques in the contemporary world. These artists breathe fresh, contemporary sensibilities into techniques that have centuries of history, making this a very exciting time for art lovers to be in Kanazawa. Much like the subject of the art fair, the event itself is also carefully assembled for maximum effect, taking place at one of the city’s leading hotels, with hundreds of works on display across multiple floors.
There’s even more to experience outside the hotel, too: the National Crafts Museum is holding special visit events, and various guided hands-on workshop visits are available for visitors interested in a deeper enjoyment of this celebration of art and crafts, with a premium tour package too that includes visits to all of them. There are also guided visits to shops in Kanazawa that specialize in antique art and crafts, offering a chance to enjoy the shopkeepers’ deep familiarity with their areas of expertise. These visits are led by an English-speaking interpreter, as well, making them perfect for art lovers and collectors from overseas!
Special VIP Commentary for KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2024
Forty galleries from Japan and abroad come together at the Hyatt Centric Kanazawa, to exhibit and sell works by promising up-and-comers as well as well-established internationally active artists. This year’s KOGEI Art Fair features a special VIP-style tour of the event floor, with commentary, for an excellent opportunity to hear about recommended artists, popular galleries, and trends in crafts, and to get a closer look at the works on display. Bilingual interpreters are available, to ensure that guests who don’t speak Japanese still won’t miss a thing.
Experience the National Crafts Museum in Entirely New Ways
From Friday, September 6 through Sunday, December 1, the National Crafts Museum is holding special visit events featuring commentary from the curator of the Imaginal Crafts exhibition, followed by a chance to view the works on display. English-speaking interpreters are available, to assist with commentary and Q&A alike.
There’s also the museum’s unique Touch&Talk program: an interactive way for guests to experience crafts through hands-on encounters with example pieces from the collection of the National Crafts Museum. This event focuses on works by leading artists, including living national treasures like Yasokichi Tokuda and Kunie Komori, as well as other masters of contemporary crafts. Rarely do museums invite guests to directly handle the items from their collection, making this an unforgettable way to hone your appreciation of kogei crafts.
Step Inside the Workshops of Popular Artists, for Lasting Memories of Intimate Encounters
These exclusive workshop visits feature an English-speaking interpreter-guide, to make it easier than ever to discover the cutting edge of art and crafts in Japan for yourself. Choose one or two that particularly interest you, or visit all of them to compare and contrast their work for an even deeper appreciation.
Terumasa Ikeda (Lacquer & Raden Inlay)
This up-and-coming artist has made a name for himself with his high-tech approach to traditional crafts, incorporating laser-cutting and CAD into his lacquering and raden mother-of-pearl inlay work to bring futuristic designs to life through centuries-old skills. This visit to his studio in Kanazawa offers a closer look at how his intricately detailed works are created, and a chance to see some of his past works, as well as to talk with him about his thoughts on his works and about crafts in general.
Akihiko Sugita (Lacquer)
Sugita uses the traditional techniques of Wajima Lacquerware, but with a distinctly clean, modern sensibility on display in his works, leading some of his lacquerware to be found in use at prestigious restaurants overseas. This visit to his charmingly old-fashioned lacquerware studio provides the opportunity to learn more about his handiwork and the tools involved in the process, as well as lacquer itself as a material.
Yuichi Nakata (Ceramics)
Nakata’s work is beloved for its rustic lack of artifice, with an approach to coloration and brushwork that blends and mingles both Japanese and Western sensibilities. These items are informed by Nakata’s unique perspective that the history of ceramics and personal experiences are interwoven, like a tapestry of an ongoing narrative still being told. His studio is located in a renovated machiya townhouse that was once a tatami mat shop, and visitors have the opportunity to encounter his philosophical worldview through both demonstrations of his work and conversations with him directly.
Hitoshi Maida (Yuzen Dyeing)
At the Maida Kaga Yuzen dyeing studio, Hitoshi Maida works alongside his father Kenji, serving as leaders who supervise every single step of the Kaga Yuzen dyeing process. This type of holistic view of every step of the process, from start to finish, is rarely seen with Kaga Yuzen, offering visitors a rare chance to see everything from drawing the initial design, to tracing outlines on the fabric in glue, to actually applying the pigments. Visitors can even try out some of these tasks for themselves. This particular workshop visit includes something extra, as well: a special dance performance, featuring a geisha wearing a kimono made with Kaga Yuzen dyed fabric.
Yoca Muta (Ceramics)
Yoca Muta’s Kutani Ware items are hand-shaped to create results that feel almost akin to paintings or ukiyo-e prints expressed in three dimensions, leading her work to be exceptionally well received by collectors internationally. This visit brings guests to the new studio she established in 2023 in Nomi, to see her studio environment and how she works, alongside some of her past work, as well as to learn about her thoughts on crafts and art through interpreter-facilitated conversation.
Explore Antique Art at Shops Beloved by Those in the Know
A great way to complement these visits to contemporary artists’ studios is to encounter and discover older art and crafts at specialty shops, run by people who are deeply passionate and knowledgeable about their wares. Kanazawa has been a center of these various industries for centuries, so it’s no surprise that there are countless treasures to be discovered and rediscovered all around town. Join an English-speaking interpreter-guide for visits to lovely shops and lively chats you won’t soon forget!
Ishiguro Shouten Co., Ltd.
This antique shop dates back to 1904, and still features beautiful wood latticework on its exterior. In fact, the building itself, a Kanazawa machiya townhouse, has been given special recognition by the national government. Inside, you’ll find a choice selection of tea ceremony items and other antiques, as well as modern and contemporary craft items. Ishiguro Shoten is celebrating their 120th anniversary this year, and visitors to the celebration can enjoy matcha green tea served in antique cups, savoring it while looking at masterpieces from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Hirajyuu
Since their founding around the mid 19th century, Hirajyuu has traded in antiques, with a particular focus on tea ceremony items. For generations, the family has prided itself on their refined sense of taste and style, continuing on to the eighth-generation owner of this shop today. This visit event is built around the theme of “The Joys of Drinking Vessel Crafts,” and the shop owner will talk about the beauty of sake cups and servers, as well as dishes and utensils, all alongside light refreshments and sake.
Kashimoto Kin’yodo
This cozy shop offers a selection of tea ceremony utensils and other items carefully curated by the owner. For this visit event, the participants actually start by heading out from Kashimoto Kin’yodo’s location near the Higashi Chaya District, followed by a walk through town to a traditional chaya geisha entertainment venue, where guests enjoy matcha green tea served in an artisanal craft cup. The owner loves Kanazawa, and the walking tour covers more than just antiques, with plenty to learn about when it comes to local culture and history.
Shirai Bijutsu
Shirai Bijutsu is located near Kanazawa’s famous 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, and was originally founded with the goal of offering a choice selection of excellent items to delight customers. Today, the shop has a focus on local art with ties to Ishikawa, from the late 19th through mid 20th century. During the visit, the owner will talk about various precious items in his collection, and guests will also be able to enjoy matcha green tea and sweets at the historic Shoutou-an tearoom at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art.
Toda Shoten
Toda Shoten was established in 1975, and handles a wide variety of works of art, with a focus on crafts and tea ceremony utensils from the local region. This tour features a lineup centered around lacquerware decorated with maki-e, a craft that has long been highly prized internationally. The shop also has its own tearoom inside, providing guests with a quiet space to experience the tea ceremony firsthand using antique items.
Learn More and Sign Up for Special Visits and Events
If you’re interested in learning more about one of these special visits or events, or signing up for some of them, follow the links below for more information. If you’re an art lover, you aren’t going to want to miss this rare opportunity!
KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2024: https://kogei-artfair.jp/
Tour Sign Up: https://unveil-jp.com/stories/kogei-art-fair-kanazawa-2024-special-events-and-premium-tour/