When the first public museums of decorative arts, the South Kensington Museum (now known as the V&A) in London, and the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry (now MAK) in Vienna were opened around the mid-19th century, their primary mission was to educate artisans, manufacturers, and the public on the principles of good taste and to improve the state of craftsmanship. Both museums built Japanese decorative arts collections and many other institutions in Europe and the USA followed their examples. Later, the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles witnessed an active aesthetic dialogue between artists in the West and in Japan. The second half of the 20th century saw a flourishing of design and the development of international trends. Now, in the 21st century, it is timely to rethink the definition and function of Japanese “decorative arts” (kogei) and reexamine its role in the society as well as its representation in universal museum collections.

The period is apt for developing different skills in wood, glass, textile, ceramics and new materials. The comparison between new making techniques and long existing ones (those that have been handed down to us by our ancestors) is crucial today in finding ways to progress into the future. Kanazawa has all such merits and they are preserved most effectively. Young makers today should learn the old in order to progress into the future. Everything is about respect, patience and appreciation of cultural assets. The past guides us, the future leads us and the present assesses us.

Since the late twentieth century, changes have been observed in how crafts are perceived in various parts of the world, and the 21st century has seen more and more development of new styles of craft representation around the world. Each artist starts with a material, understanding it in their own way, then working to come up with their own original ways to connect with the material, making full use of their skills to reach a fresh, unprecedented form of expression — I have great expectations of the Triennale of KOGEI in Kanazawa as a venue to encounter the possibilities and richness of hands-on art created through this combination of both conflict and collaboration between the artist’s physicality and the material itself.

I look forward to seeing more and more novelty and originality represented in contemporary crafts.

Nowadays, we can see the possibilities of craft techniques expanding in various fields, from industrial products to contemporary arts. Through this triennale, I hope to see many novel styles, works rich in creativity, and works that suggest the shapes of crafts to come.

Previously, in the world of contemporary arts, the word “craft-like” has not been regarded as a compliment; however, it seems to me that chances to rediscover the importance of handiwork in a broad sense have increased dramatically over the last twenty years or so. In fact, I feel signs of the emergence of artists who will easily transcend the boundaries of this narrow framework of crafts. The theme of this exhibition, “KOGEI as Contemporary Craft: Transcending Boundaries,” indicates the transcending of boundaries by the spirit, with a constant refusal to be bound by established values, and a willingness to engage with innovative ideas, beyond mere intercommunication between crafts and fields like design and contemporary art. Although it is rather difficult to achieve this, I look forward to seeing your many ambitious works.