KOGEI－The Spirit of KYOTO

Works of KOGEI―工芸 pronounce ko-u-ge-i―in Kyoto are historically believed to have started as early as in the 8th century. Almost at the same period, the City of Heian, the new capital of Japan, was built in Kyoto. Kyoto continued to be the capital till 1868 when it was transferred to Tokyo and Meiji Era began.

Before the Meiji Era, there were no conceptions for KOGEI in Japan. Today, KOGEI is understood as almost synonyms with decorative arts and sometimes as one kind of fine-arts, but in old days pottery was nothing but pottery or dyeing is was just dyeing.

In accordance with the growth of the capital, a lot of carpenters, craftsmen and all kinds of talents flowed into the capital from all over the country with their skillful techniques and made brilliant tradition. They made every thing from big palaces or temples to swords or writing brushes and naturally their products had been developed both in quantity and in quality. They were not only useful but also beautiful.

In any period in the history of Kyoto, people mastered the sense of beauty through natural fineness of their circumstance such as mountains, rivers, forests .etc., especially seasonal changes of scenery; for example, cherry blossoms in spring, clear rivulets shaded with fresh green in summer, flamed hill with crimson and yellow leaves in autumn and snow-capped rocks in Japanese styled garden.

The main streams of beauty makers have been common technicians in each field of products, but great geniuses periodically appeared to play leading roles in technical innovation and drawing designs. But they were not full time maker of goods. They might have been merchants or samurais, and etc.. But all of them had a same aim ……to be cute, elegant and harmonious. Of course, tere were some out of example, and yet they all tried to keep Kyoto’s ambience.

Those who made KOGEI products liked to culturally exchange with talents of different fields living in the country. They included people of royal court, Buddhism priests, poets, painters, merchants, samurais, farmers and even Geishas. Especially, people who live in Kyoto had met each other so often and enjoyed drinking tea or Sake and talked, and at same time they learned each others’ specialties. They were also aggressive to learn the know-how of overseas. They must be called artists in a sense and most of citizens of Kyoto were art-lovers in their own way.

From the early time of Meiji Era, many hand-craft works have been accepted as under the word KOGEI.（工芸）．It was found in old Chinese history books and it meant industrial works including architects, sculptures and paintings. Even the road work was considered as KOGEI at least in Tang dynasty. But Japanese official concerning  to industry considered the small-sized products to be used in man’s dairy domestic life as KOGEI, so that, those things like ceramic table-wares, vases, mother-of-pearl works ans lacquer ornamented boxes, were typical products of KOGEI in their eyes. In Kyoto, every kind of KOGEI products have been made, and they were very refined ones.

Since then, many KOGEI artists tried to be successful in Kyoto. They produced both utility goods and artistic ones. In Japan, may be all over the world, you can find many producing areas of KOGEI, but in our opinion, their KOGEI are “limited”, limited kinds of technique, style, even though some certain artists are outstanding in their style. Kyoto has all kinds of KOGEI; various genres, styles, techniques sense or irea and more than thousand years of history. We don’t’ hesitate to call Kyoto as the Capital of KOGEI on earth and to pronounce that KOGEI is the esprit of Kyoto.