The most famous book on Mingei theory by the founding members of the Mingei Movement.
The Unknown Craftsman is the culmination of Yanagi Soetsu’s philosophy on folk crafts and Bernard Leach’s efforts to disseminate these ideas outside of Japan. It includes an introduction by the renowned potter Shoji Hamada, who was a key figure in the Mingei Movement. By the time this book was published in 1972, Yanagi had founded the Nihon Mingei Kaikan (Japan Folk Crafts Museum, 1936) and published 120 issues of Kogei magazine (1931-1951) and had become a well-known figure in Japan. This book marks a distinct turning point, when Yanagi’s essays were consolidated and translated into English – many of which for the first time.
The present copy contains a gift inscription ‘from Miriam and Bob’, who we have been unable to identify.
