Kuroda Tatsuaki Exhibition: A Journey Through Wood, Lacquer and mother-of-Pearl – A Review of the Exhibition

I went to see the “120th Anniversary of His Birth: Living National Treasure Kuroda Tatsuaki: A Journey of Wood, Lacquer and Raden” exhibition, which opened at The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, on 17th December 2024.

Kuroda Tatsuaki was a representative Japanese wood and lacquer master artisan born in Kyoto in 1904.
His father was a lacquerer who employed many craftsmen. Still, Tatsuaki questioned the division of labor that was common at the time. Throughout his life, he stuck to his stance as an “individual artist” who consistently undertook everything from design creation and base material production to decoration himself. He left a solid mark on the history of Japanese craft, being the first person in Japan to be certified as a holder of an important intangible cultural asset (living national treasure) for his woodwork techniques.

He was also closely involved in the Mingei (folk craft) movement through figures such as Kanjiro Kawai and Soetsu Yanagi, whom we introduced in a recent blog post. He emphasized the origins of craft as tools for human use rather than the expression of a whimsical personality. He aimed to integrate practicality and decorative qualities with the characteristics of the materials, and he idealized the idea that the beauty of a work is enhanced by its use.
His representative works include the Japanese lacquer table made from Japanese oak, which is used at the long-established café Shinshindo in Kyoto’s Hyakumanben district and the large decorative shelf made from Japanese zelkova, which is used at the Japanese confectionary store Kagizen Yoshifusa in Kyoto’s Gion district.

He is also famous for the furniture set he made at the request of the world-famous film director Akira Kurosawa, as well as the door decorations and large decorative shelf of the New Imperial Palace.

This exhibition is being held in Kyoto, where Kuroda was born and raised and where he was active, to commemorate the 120th anniversary of his birth.
The exhibition is divided into two parts: the first looks back over Kuroda’s life and work through representative works, and the second focuses on his involvement in the Mingei movement and the techniques of woodwork, lacquerware, and raden, highlighting the major theme of craftwork, “utility and beauty.”

Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside the venue, so I can’t tell you what it was like, but there was a wonderful catalog on sale, so I bought one.

None of the works were showy or gaudy, and if anything, they could be described as simple and robust, but even so, I couldn’t help but feel a dignified elegance.
Perhaps that was the “utility and beauty” that Kuroda Tatsuaki was aiming for, or in other words, the natural beauty that he was trying to convey through his works.

Exhibition Information

Touring exhibition
Toyota Municipal Museum of Art March 15 (Sat) – May 18 (Sun), 2025