Fans of mingei, traditional folk art, will want to visit the former house of Kanjiro Kawai in Kyoto. In the back of the home is his kiln for firing his ceramics. The house also includes many lovely mingei pieces on display as well as the rooms of his home. It was lovely to visit on a sunny day as natural sunlight fills many of the rooms.
The mingei movement was started by #SoetsuYanagi, #ShojiYamada, and #KanjiroKawai. The folk craft pieces are made to enrich daily lives, not to be put on display and saved for special occasions. Some of my favorite mingei pieces include #Ontayaki pottery. In Tokyo @sono_mono is a lovely gallery with an outstanding selection of Ontayaki pottery from Oita prefecture. I love the texture of the glaze on Ontayaki.
In the entrance are several books and magazines (in Japanese and English) and a quiet seating area. Note that the home is not heated so dress warmly in winter.
Kawai Kanjiro’s House
Kyoto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Kanei-cho, Gojyozaka 569
closed Mondays (unless Monday is a national holiday)
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last entry at 4:30 p.m.)
Food Sake Tokyo 