Naveed Miraj & Shahid Qureshi
ISLAMABAD: To showcase the depth of traditional Japanese cultural heritage from its earliest origins to contemporary works, a Japan Foundation’s travelling pottery exhibition, “Yakishime: Earth Metamorphosis”, inaugurated at the National Art Gallery of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts for visitors to get familiar with this unique and centuries-old cultural facet of the country.
The exhibition, which runs until February 29, is jointly arranged by the Japan Foundation and the Japanese Embassy in Islamabad in collaboration with PNCA.
Caretaker Federal Minister for National Heritage & Culture Jamal Shah and Japan’s Ambassador to Pakistan WADA Mitsuhiro, together with the other distinguished guests, opened the exhibition on Thursday at the National Art Gallery to provide an opportunity for visitors to witness the evolution of Yakishime from its ancient roots to contemporary expressions.
Exhibition Focuses on Traditional Japanese Ceramics Technique Yakishime
This captivating exhibition focuses on a traditional Japanese ceramics technique, Yakishime (firing unglazed wares at extremely high temperatures), and shows its history and evolution, which has developed in distinctive directions in Japan from the fourth and fifth centuries through the present day.
It features more than 80 exquisite pieces from the earliest examples to the present through Yakishime wares, food vessels, jars, tea vessels, containers, and more that have become a necessary part of everyday life in Japan. It also presents a wide range of non-utilitarian objects made by contemporary ceramic artists working in Yakishime styles aiming to provide an opportunity to communicate the distinctively Japanese sensibility and aesthetic to people abroad.
Ambassador WADA, while speaking at the opening ceremony, expressed his deep admiration for this time-honored traditional Japanese art of producing ceramic art and crafts, stating that one of the unique characteristics of Japanese culture is the coexistence and fusion of tradition and innovation. We are good at adding new interpretations to tradition while respecting old tastes and methods.
He said that Pakistan was also known as a production center of traditional pottery with Blue Pottery from Multan, which has great attractions with Yakishime.
