22432 Muneyoshi Yanagi ("Who is the master of the River Twill Belt?" (Sorishi))

Length 109cm

Width 63cm

Philosopher and founder of the Mingei movement. Born in Tokyo. Participated in the founding of the magazine Shirakaba while attending Gakushuin Senior High School. Studied psychology at the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Letters.

Inspired by B. Leach, he studied W. Blake and devoted himself to mysticism. On the other hand, he learned about Joseon porcelain and criticized Japan's policy towards Korea, and opened the Korean National Museum in Seoul.

He then discovered the beauty created by anonymous craftsmen in everyday Japanese utensils, and in 1926, together with Hamada Shoji, Kawai Kanjiro and others, he coined the term "Mingei" (folk art), and launched the folk art movement. In 1931, he launched the magazine "Kogei" (Crafts), which introduced research on the sculptures of the monk Mokjiki, utensils from local folk kilns, and Joseon dynasty ceramics. In 1936, he founded the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Komaba, Tokyo, and became its director. He is the author of the Complete Works of Yanagi Muneyoshi, which consists of 22 volumes (25 books).