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Online exhibition – “Mingei x Contemporary 2026”

Now open

Wishing you all a happy, productive and peaceful year.

2026 has welcomed its dawn. As some of you might know that tabi Arts are all about blue and white – that I refer to the classic Tobe designs which were inspired by the Mingei movements, and the exquisite contemporary works by Tobe Collective.

This special online exhibition “Mingei x Contemporary 2026” will run through to the end of January 2026.

This year marks the 100 year anniversary of the Mingei movement launch. The term “Mingei” was coined by a philosopher Yanagi Souetsu. The aesthetical, philosophical and theorical aspects of Mingei is summed up in “ordinary people’s crafts”. Whereas Kogei is translated as “traditional arts and craft”, which emphasises a combination of high-level craftsmanship and artistic expression, Mingei is “(common) people’s arts and craft/folk craft”

In Yanagi’s opinion, beauty could be found in common and utilitarian everyday objects made by nameless and unknown artisans, as opposed to higher forms of art manufactured by named artists.

In this curated online exhibition my focus is to present different faces of Tobe pottery. There are some classics from Tobe designs including ‘balloon flowers” and “karakusa” by Baizan studio, the oldest studio in Tobe along with bowls/cups in “krawanka” shape by Eiryuji studio, which was invented during the Edo period. I also have some unique contemporary works by the members of Tobe Collective.

My emphasis with the potters I have worked with has always been “evolution”. I am a strong believer in tradition but also accept the idea we all have to evolve from what we have inherited. I really hope the exhibiton will showcase a little bit of what I believe in, and of course you will find something special.

a collection of hand tools of Futoshi Miyauchi – Tobe Collective member

Featured artists are;

Tobe Collective (ceramics) – Masami Kato,

and Takayasu Nishioka

Other Tobe studios –

Baizan studio, Sukoshi-ya studio

Donna Shrestha – linocut prints

Masami Kato throwing at his studio

Mingei and Tobe pottery

There are over 80 pottery studios in Tobe right now. The history of its pottery goes back to the 7th century though as an established porcelain town, it was made well-known upon the discovery of porcelain stone in the late 18th century during the Edo period. The town has gone through a several phases of porcelain production. The one that had created a close tie with the Mingei movement was during the 1960s when then the young generation of potters had revolutionised the designs of Tobe pottery after the visit by Barnard Leach and Yanagi who made rather a harsh criticism on its making.

Balloon flower rice bowl by Baizan Studio

Balloon flower plates by Baizan Studio

Kwaranka tea cup by Takayasu Nishioka

Soba choko by Akihiro Masuda

Donburi bowl by Akihiro Masuda

Pomegranate plate by Baizan studio

Cloud plate by Futoshi

Gosu lined plate by Akihiro

Large Karakusa plate by Baizan

Nerikomi mugs by Masami

Komon bowl by Sukoshi-ya

Recent years

Since the end of the last century Tobe has been facing some challenges due to the less interests in pottery making among the younger generation.

The most recognised design such as Karakusa that was invented during the 1960s had been practiced technically in every studio since its beginning. Although the design is undoubtly historical, there have been a slight fatigue about the ideas on new designs of Tobe pottery even among the potters.

The image on the right “Tobe craftsman at his workshop” was made especially for Tobe Collective by a linocut printmaker, Donna Shrestha at London Design Fair in 2023

Tobe pottery and tabi Arts

With the financial support by the Ehime prefectural government tabi Arts has worked on the international potters’ exchange program (TICEP) from 2019 for 3 years.

Since then there have been more interests in the town by the potters from the UK including Tom Kemp who was the first resident artist in 2020.

As I mentioned above, the core theme I have with the potters I work is “evolution”. Mingei was the beginning of the modern history of Tobe Pottery, and this is something I would always like to reflect on, however at the same time now is also the time to build the new history upon the tradition.

January 2026

Mamiko Karasudani-Esposito

Dandelion plate by Chie Okada

Nerikomi tumbler by Masami

Gosu flower plate by Akihiho Masuda

Kiku (chrysanthemum) pot by Baizan studio

A little fun with Tobe ceramics. Menu samples used in the past exhibition

Thank you for visiting – the items in this online exhibition were presented at Yokimono Christmas Market. If you have seen some other items you are interested in and that are not here, please contact me directly. I’d be happy to send you some information.

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