The beauty of Okinawa that Soetsu Yanagi encountered Ryukyu folk art

Surrounded by the sea on all sides, Okinawa has long fostered a unique culture through trade with China and Japan, giving rise to a diverse array of crafts rooted in its natural environment. Soetsu Yanagi (1889-1961) first visited Okinawa at the end of 1938. Deeply impressed by Okinawan culture, where traditions remain strong, Yanagi described its value as a "treasure trove" in his writings. Furthermore, while conducting research on crafts with his fellow members of the folk craft movement, he produced cultural films such as "Ryukyu Folk Crafts" and "Ryukyu Scenery," documenting the lives of people living in harmony with nature and the beauty of crafts. These works are invaluable records of Okinawa before the war. In addition to screening "Ryukyu Folk Crafts," this exhibition will display the textiles, ceramics, woodwork, and other crafts featured in the film, as well as works by folk craft movement artists inspired by them. This year, as the Shuri Castle main hall, which was destroyed in a fire in 2019, is scheduled to be rebuilt, and interest in Okinawan culture and crafts is growing, we will re-examine the value of Okinawan crafts that Yanagi has encountered.