I learned that Mr. Kazuhiro Sakata of Furudōgu Sakata, an antique store, had passed away on November 6 through an article by Mr. Sugano, the editor-in-chief of Kōgei Seika @kogei_seika . The concept of tea ceremony by Sen no Rikyu and Sōetsu Yanagi’s idea of Mingei (folk art) are two of Japan's unique artistic philosophies that have been clearly explained in writing (I dare to omit other movements here, so please don't be offended). Both of these artistic concepts are based on a minimalist sensibility, purporting a mechanism that allows for a fertile range of expression by pursuing minimalism to its logical conclusion. The message of Mr. Sakata's store belong to this lineage. Just before the rise of the Japanese bubble economy, Mr. Sakata started to uniquely capture the mood of the Japanese people since the nation's defeat in the Pacific War, and he carried on with his mission until right before the pandemic. He went beyond the notion of an antique dealer and published books, influenced many young craftsmen, and laid the groundwork for the lifestyle crafts movement. I believe that his activities, while grounded in the Mingei folk craft movement, went one step further and advocated a landscape of “poverty," of the sorrows of a defeated nation. I was following Mr. Sakata’s concept of "poverty” with great interest as a movement of beauty in the lower hierarchy of art, in diametric opposition to money worshipping, and as something that would destroy the Superflat theory that I had established. I became quite devoted to Mr. Sakata’s ideas and, in the Bubblewrap exhibition I curated, I included an installation that replicated Mr. Sakata's store in the last gallery. (The photo of me sitting in the middle of a dimly lit room is the said installation.) He didn't manage to fully construct his concept in his lifetime. While Mr. Sakata himself may have had no interest in constructing such a concept, I personally feel this was regrettable. to the next👉 photo: @studio.kurage