Japanese Art

Over 120 Japanese artists, makers, craftsmen, and self-taught practitioners and 2,000 individual works made from the most different materials blending tradition, innovation and self-expression. Japan House London’s new exhibition, Hyakkō: 100+ Makers from Japan is opening on the 3^rd December 2025.

 

 

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[BLOG POST IN BIO] ‘Hyakkō: 100+ Makers from Japan’ – new exhibition at Japan House London 🇯🇵 The exhibition is celebrating the beauty of everyday objects 🍵 Instead of celebrating a single material, craft or technique, ‘Hyakkō: 100+ Makers from Japan’ invites over 120 craftsmen, artists and makers to showcase the diversity of craftsmanship, materials, self-expression, and tradition “𝖶𝖾 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗏𝗂𝗌𝗂𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗋𝖺𝖿𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗌𝗂𝗆𝗉𝗅𝗒 𝖺𝗌 𝗈𝖻𝗃𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗌, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝖺𝗇 𝗂𝗇𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗈 𝗋𝖾𝖿𝗅𝖾𝖼𝗍 𝗈𝗇 𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝗂𝗏𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗇𝖾𝖼𝗍 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗏𝗂𝗍𝗒, 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝗎𝗇𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝖾.” – says Simon Wright, Director of Programming at Japan House London 📍Japan House London | 101-111 Kensington High St, London W8 5SA 📆 3rd December 2025 – 10th May 2026 🕰️ Mon – Sat: 10am – 8pm Sundays & Bank Holidays: 12pm – 6pm Note: Japan House London will close early at 6pm on 15th December 🎟️ The exhibition is FREE to visit. Booking a time slot is recommended but walk-ins accepted. #japaneseart #japaneseartist #japanesecraftsmanship #japanhouse #japanthings

♬ Japanese koto in the beginning of autumn – Japanese Lofi BGM

 

Celebrating Japan’s Contemporary Craft Landscape

 

Photo: Urban Adventurer

  

Japan House London’s new exhibition is celebrating the beauty of everyday objects.

 

Hyakkō: 100+ Makers from Japan exhibition is organised in collaboration of Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. (MUJI) and was first presented at ATELIER MUJI GINZA in Tokyo in 2023.

 

ATELIER MUJI GINZA is a six-floor cultural space, consisting of an art gallery hosting annual exhibitions focusing on craft and design, a library, a café, a lounge and the MUJI flagship store selling daily necessities, furniture, health & beauty products, food, fashion, kitchen supplies and other everyday essentials.

 

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

In Japan, craft practices (should it be lacquerware, wood, glass, clay, leather or any other material) are often passed down through generations for – often times – hundreds of years resulting incredibly high-quality and unique hand-crafted products.

 

Before the 1920s, the focus was on the beauty of the hand-crafted objects while craftsmen remain anonymous until the ‘folk craft’ (mingei) movement turned people’s attention to the artists.

 

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

Hyakkō: 100+ Makers from Japan exhibition, rather than celebrating a single material, craft or technique, invites over 120 craftsmen, artists and makers to showcase the diversity of craftsmanship, materials, self-expression, and tradition that all blend together to form Japan’s contemporary craft landscape as it looks like today.

 

“The flow of the river never ceases, and yet the water is never the same.” Kamo no Chōmei

 

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

“As people daily lives change, so the objects we use.” – says Simon Wright, Director of Programming at Japan House London.

 

Japan House London’s new exhibition is a rare opportunity for visitors to witness how deep rooted traditions evolve, change and shape through personal history and the local environment over the centuries.

 

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

Although, traditions change over the centuries, they are able to embrace individuality without ever confining. As a result, individuality and traditions can create a harmony and function, aesthetic and purpose.

 

13^th-century Japanese writer, Kamo no Chōmei ‘s words resonate with this beautifully in his Hōjōki (An Account of My Hut): “The flow of the river never ceases, and yet the water is never the same.”

 

 “We hope visitors will see this craft not simply as objects, but as an innovation to reflect on ways of living that connect creativity, community and care.” – Simon Wright adds.

 

Gallery Tours, Workshops and Demonstrations

 

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

Japan House London is running special gallery tours led (by curator Nagata Takahiro and maker Ichikawa Takashi), workshops, including intimate tea gatherings with Ichikawa Takashi, talks with special guests as well as demonstrations throughout the the exhibition until 10^th May 2026.

 

Check the events and book your tickets here.

 

Tea Demonstration and Tasting with Ichikawa Takashi

 

Ichikawa Takashi

Photo: Urban Adventurer

  

Ichikawa Takashi is a Japanese potter, based in Shiga, Japan. He was born in Shiga Prefecture and graduated from Hokkaido University of Education Kushiro Campus before continued his studies in Joetsu University of Education, specialising in sculpture.

 

He also studied ceramics and worked at various studios across Japan. In his own studio in Maibara City, Ichikawa-san makes pottery and accessories, including tea saucers, wooden lids and vessels. His works have been exhibited in Japan and abroad.

 

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

You can find his works in the exhibition, and some of them are available to purchase at Japan House London’s shop.

 

Led by his interest in tea cultures around the world, Ichikawa-san is specialised in tea pottery, wild plant, medicine and herbs. He often hosts tea gatherings and demonstrations to help people rediscover the joy of living in harmony with nature.

 

At his tea demonstrations, Ichikawa-san introduces the most different herbs and wild plants to his audience and encourages them to create their own blend based on their personal tastes.

 

Tea demonstration by Ichikawa Takashi

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

During his tea demonstration we participated in at the Press Preview of the exhibition, we had the opportunity to taste three different blends, created entirely by us, representing the root, the leaves and the flowers.

 

We also had the opportunity to make an interview with Ichikawa-san.

 

Q: I recently came across a very informative and interesting article about your work and style on the Internet and learnt that you have your very own style when it comes to pottery making (especially teacups, pots and tea kettles that you’re specialised for). Could you please tell me a few words about your own style? How have it shaped over the years and what are the hallmarks of your style?

 

Ichikawa Takashi:

In terms of my practice, I mainly work through solo exhibitions. I initially started by making vessels to accompany food and tea, but gradually became more and more absorbed in tea itself.

An encounter with towering tea trees led me to perceive tea as an event involving plants, water, and fire (the sun).

From this perspective, I began wanting to create tools and objects that draw out the appeal of plants and allow people to enjoy them.

The things I want to make always have a concrete purpose. Based on that purpose, factors such as size, capacity, thickness, and weight are determined, which then lead to decisions about appropriate materials and firing methods.

Depending on the object, porcelain may be suitable, or earthenware, or heat-resistant clay. I use different kilns accordingly: two types of wood-fired kilns, an oil-fired kiln, as well as electric and charcoal kilns.

In addition to ceramics, I also work with iron, wood, bamboo, and stone, creating various tools—such as distillers, roasters, and mills—as well as tea carts, counters, benches, and other devices that suggest the beginning of something, enabling playful tea experiences.

Everything I create carries a story behind it, and I take pleasure in that process.

 

Q: What inspires you when creating your pottery? How does the creation process look like? Do you have a specific idea in mind when you start working or do you just let it go and see what come out?

 

Ichikawa Takashi:

I am inspired by whatever currently captures my interest.

This changes from time to time, but everything is connected.

At first, I focused on home cooking, making vessels for the dishes I wanted to eat.

Now, my interests include decocted teas, tisanes, and tea practices among ethnic minorities.

From the tools used, the actions taken, and the reasons behind them, forms I want to make begin to emerge.

These forms become more concrete as I work—by moving my hands.

 

Q: You’re not just an expert in tea pottery making, but also make your own tea blends from herbs, wild plants and medicinal herbs. You also smoke the tea leaves if my knowledge is correct. Could you, please tell me a few words about that?

 

Ichikawa Takashi:

First, when the desire to create swells up from my mind, I begin working with clay. This stage may be the most important.

Once the content or object is decided, I consider what kind of clay to use, along with capacity, size, and weight, and then determine the firing method.

When shaping and finishing, I think about where the excitement lies in the object.

Wanting people to use the pieces casually, I aim for simple forms, avoiding overworking them, while searching for the right balance.

My goal is to create objects that can grow and mature like well-used old tools.

Although it may sound like I work “slowly and carefully,” the actual rhythm of making is very fluid and energetic—I make continuously, following a comfortable flow.

I rarely aim to make identical forms; instead, I focus on capturing the “now” that emerges from my hands, much like singing a song.

Once the form is made, it is finished, dried, glazed if necessary (unglazed for yakishime pieces), loaded into the kiln, and fired.

Firing durations vary depending on the kiln. The longest firings last three days or even up to a week.

After unloading the kiln, there is further finishing, and then the work is complete.

Some objects—such as distillers or roasters—may appear enigmatic. In those cases, the fired ceramic pieces are combined with other materials to complete the work.

I make tea because I want to understand it more deeply, and I host tea gatherings as part of that exploration.

Neither my tea-making methods nor the style of my tea gatherings are entirely original. I do have references, but I don’t reproduce them exactly—I alter them slightly.

Rather than replication, I add small innovations to keep things feeling fresh, creating playful interactions with participants.

What I want to create are the triggers, settings, and landscapes around tea.

My current style draws inspiration from ethnic minority tea practices, the early discovery of tea, historical accounts, and nostalgic memories.

I also reference related fields surrounding tea—such as non-tea teas (茶外茶), wild herb teas, medicinal teas, soups, jams, dyeing, incense, and other forms of plant use.

This is not about making things complicated, but about simplicity—engaging with the event of plants, water, and fire (the sun).

I find it fascinating when conversations about these elements naturally arise.

By understanding the reasons and benefits behind incorporating living plants into daily life, and by re-experiencing those intentions, we can rediscover the value of current tea and sense new possibilities.

While deep knowledge within each field is important, it can sometimes obstruct pure, intuitive perception.

Letting go of that knowledge for a moment and facing the plants in our daily lives can feel surprisingly fresh and insightful.

I am also drawn to water—such as spring water as living water—and to the differences between soft and hard water; there is still much to explore.

As for heat—fire and the sun—it is a powerful and potentially dangerous energy, precisely because of which we must cultivate attentiveness and respect when engaging with it.

Beyond smoking tea leaves, I am particularly interested in roasting and decocting tea. Each practice has its purpose and effects.

What fascinates me most is the here-and-now quality that does not lend itself to commodification or distribution.

The fleeting moments when aromas rise during roasting or decoction are profoundly rich experiences.

Many of my tea gatherings take the form of participatory workshops.

There is no single “beautiful, delicious, correct” tea prepared in advance.

Participants blend, roast, and experience those fleeting aromatic moments themselves—experiences distinct from simply drinking tea, and ones that can be carried forward into future practices.

I act only as a gentle guide. Of course, I do my best to prepare delicious tea, but more than that, my hope is for the space to become neutral ground where people feel the power of plants, exchange ideas and information, and expand their curiosity—allowing them to shift their own interests into the next stage.

 

Q: Do you have favourite tea or blend?

 

Ichikawa Takashi:

I wouldn’t say that I possess a specific original technique, nor am I pursuing one.

When I first started, I did search for originality in colors, forms, and finishes, but that approach became superficial and led to a dead end.

Now, my main concern is: how can I do what I truly want to enjoy?

From there, I think about materials I like, how to combine them, and finding the right balance.

I feel much closer to what I truly want to do than before—I’ve become more playful.

I love rock tea (or yancha), especially Da Hong Pao. Its rich aroma, deep strength, and the way it endures through many infusions are especially appealing.

That said, as I continue to encounter new tea practices, my curiosity never settles on just one thing.

My favorites change with the seasons and with my physical condition. Recently, I’m particularly drawn to tisanes!

As for blending, rather than fixed recipes, I enjoy adjusting blends and brewing methods according to my condition at the time—adding ginger, spices, fresh herbs, or wild plants.

Introducing change and play allows me to enjoy the present moment more fully.

I believe that repeatedly engaging in this kind of play helps each person cultivate their own inner landscape.

 

Practical Info

 

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

  

Address

Japan House London | 101-111 Kensington High St, London W8 5SA

 

Opening Times

3^rd December 2025 – 10^th May 2026

Mon – Sat: 10am – 8pm

Sundays & Bank Holidays: 12pm – 6pm

Note: Japan House London will close early at 6pm on 15^th December

 

Tickets

The exhibition is FREE to visit. Booking a time slot is recommended but walk-ins accepted.

 

 

 

 

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