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A visit to Kusakabe Folk Crafts Museum

Japanese crafts are justifiably held in high esteem, as a heritage to protect by the Japanese and as a source of wonderment by foreign visitors. While it is of course possible to appreciate the great variety of Japanese crafts in museums and galleries located in the country’s main cities, it can be especially rewarding to visit the places where crafts have actually been produced and used. A recent trip to the city of Takayama in Gifu Prefecture gave me a chance to see folk crafts preserved in a museum which is in itself a remarkable heritage house.

The journey begins by a train ride which gives me the opportunity to admire from my window seat the natural beauty of this mountainous region and the forests and river which contributed to give rise to the rich local culture. Once arrived in Takayama, I find the Kusakabe Folk Crafts Museum in the centre of town, on a street lined with handsome old merchant houses.

The Kusakabe family lived on this site since the mid 17th century. Active as merchants and then also financiers, they became quite wealthy and when their house burned down in 1875, they were able to rebuild it in a grand style. The high ceiling, multiple stories and superb timbers reflect the new freedom that was brought by the start of the Meiji period; during the Edo period strict class rules had restricted rich merchant families to a more modest architectural style. Using the best materials and a celebrated local master carpenter named Jisuke Kawajiri, the house was rebuilt in only four years in a style that indicates this was a transition period: while the layout is still reminiscent of the Edo era, structural elements such as the 13-meter long single beam supporting the soaring ceiling (and in winter the heavy snowfall) demonstrate the latest progress in carpentry. The building was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1966 and opened to the public the same year.

The 11th generation of the Kusakabe family, then in charge of the house, decided to put on display the family’s heritage, which includes everyday objects such as boxes and straw shoes, heirlooms like wedding kimono, jewellery and cosmetic boxes, as well as historical documents. Folk crafts of the Hida region are therefore on view throughout the spacious house, on the ground floor and in the upstairs area which is accessed via a very steep staircase. Of particular note is a collection of Mingei artworks that are presented separately, in a renovated kura, or storehouse, following the ideas and perspective of Yanagi Soetsu, the founder of the Mingei movement, which highlights the value and beauty of everyday objects created by nameless and unknown craftsmen.

Of generous proportions, the two-storey gallery space holds pieces from the local region as well as other areas of Japan. It is affiliated with the Mingeikan in Tokyo, which was founded by Yanagi Soetsu and the first of such museums dedicated to folk crafts; it strives to offer the same elegant, uncluttered presentation. Among the local craft production I can see there examples of Shibukusa-yaki, a type of pottery developed locally from 1841 and characterised by its palette of celadon, blue, white or red, as well as Shunkei lacquerware, in which layers of transparent lacquer reveal the grain of the wood. Cypress was employed for this and the warm amber colour of the pieces is very attractive; sadly I am told that this type of lacquerware is not made anymore.

There are also inro and netsuke that have been created without any polychrome additions in order to reveal the beauty of the local wood, of which the region has always been proud. Next, my eye is caught by a few remarkable baskets which are made from the bark of cherry trees and whose sophisticated geometrical designs say much about the skills perfected by the basket weavers.

Then, I can admire a small selection of pieces from other regions of Japan, including Hokkaido and Okinawa, and I am also delighted to find a group of attractive and large Onda-yaki (also called Onta-yaki) vases, a type of ceramics produced in Oita Prefecture in Kyushu characterised by their gorgeous dripping coloured glazes and repeated markings on surface.

During my visit I am pleased to find out that there is an audio-guide available in English, which is very good news for foreign visitors. The Kusakabe Folk Crafts Museum not only presents its architectural heritage, collection of family heirlooms and folk crafts, it also organises performances and contemporary art exhibitions annually, thus aiming to be a cultural platform for Takayama.