An insight on the traditions of producing ceramics
Take a glimpse on Japan’s history on traditional culture through Yakishime, a ceramic exhibition comprised of 96 works from 17 October to 25 November at Museum of Asian Art, Universiti Malaya.
Yakishime is described as the most basic means of producing ceramics by firing unglazed wares at high temperatures. The tradition embodied in these primordial wares continues unbroken to this day.
This exhibition displays yakishime wares as part of Japan’s traditional culture, as a type of ceramics that has developed in distinctive ways in Japan. It presents their history, from the earliest examples to the present, through yakishime tea vessels, food vessels, and works that are transformations of yakishime into non-utilitarian objects d’art.
While the works exhibited include examples of new and innovative styles that go beyond the conventional concept of yakishime, this exhibition also introduces yakishime in the context of tea ceremony and washoku, Japanese cuisine. By introducing the tea ceremony and washoku or Japanese cuisine with these wares, it provides an excellent opportunity to communicate this distinctively Japanese sensibility and aesthetic to visitors from different cultures, who may be unfamiliar with such simple wares.
This exhibition is part of the Japan Foundation’s “Travelling Exhibition Program” that introduce Japanese arts and culture to overseas.