Shoya Yoshida Design Collection

“Shoya Yoshida Design Collection,” a catalog showcasing the entirety of Shoya Yoshida’s activities, traces the trajectory of design in the “New Mingei Movement” that unfolded from his base in Tottori.

Yoshida, who sympathized with the Mingei Movement led by Soetsu Yanagi, designed in a wide range of fields, from pottery and woodworking to dyeing, weaving, bamboo crafts, metalworking, and architecture, all while working as a physician. He collaborated with local artisans to create everyday goods rooted in modern life. This book introduces representative works such as tableware, vases, and furniture with abundant illustrations and explanations, and reveals the full scope of his work through his activity records and chronological tables.

Additionally, the book includes practices spanning clothing, food, and shelter, such as the establishment of the Mingei Museum and the operation of “Takumi Kappōten,” highlighting his role not merely as a crafts movement but as a proposal for a lifestyle. Yoshida’s “editing power of beauty,” combining a scientific perspective with an aesthetic eye, sublimated traditional techniques into modern forms, and he is being reevaluated as a pioneer of today’s crafts and regional design.

An important collection of materials that unravels the philosophy and practice of the New Mingei Movement from a design perspective.

[Title] Shoya Yoshida no Sekai Shoya Yoshida Design Collection
[Publisher] Tottori Mingei Museum
[Publication Date] January 7, 2015
[Page Count] 224 pages
[Size] Approximately 215*263*23mm / 957g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] YOSHIDA SHOYA NO SEKAI
[Author/Editor, etc.] Shoya Yoshida/Author, Soetsu Yanagi/Author, Kiyoto Kitani/Author, Hyo Shiraoka/Author & Producer, Kenichi Takema/Author, Akira Shiraoka/Photography, Naoko Iijima/Photography, Takashi Shiraoka/Design, Ayumi Kimoto/Design
[Printing] Chuo Printing
[ISBN] 9784924695054
[Condition] Used 【7】Good (Slight dent on spine, slight scuffing on cover)
[Accessories] None
[Featured In] -
[Related Exhibitions] -

Shoya Yoshida (1898–1972)

A physician and Mingei Movement activist born in Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture. While attending Niigata Medical School, he was influenced by the magazine "Shirakaba," and later studied under Soetsu Yanagi, becoming deeply involved in the Mingei Movement.

Upon returning to his hometown in 1931 and opening a clinic, he launched the "New Mingei Movement" triggered by his encounter with Ushinotogama pottery. In diverse fields including pottery, woodworking, dyeing, weaving, bamboo crafts, metalworking, and Japanese paper, he personally designed and collaborated with local artisans to promote the creation of daily necessities adapted to modern life. In 1932, he established "Takumi Kōgeiten," which expanded to Tokyo the following year, building a system encompassing production, distribution, and sales.

During the war, he served as a military doctor in China, and after returning to Japan post-war, he organized the Tottori Mingei Kyōdan and the Tottori Mingei Kyōkai. In 1949, he founded the Tottori Mingei Museum, dedicating himself to the promotion and education of Mingei. Furthermore, he opened "Takumi Kappōten," providing a venue to use Mingei pottery in daily life, thus engaging in activities that spanned clothing, food, and shelter. He considered himself a "Mingei producer" and aimed to innovate living culture through beauty.

He was also actively involved in cultural property protection activities, contributing to the preservation of local culture, such as the Tottori Sand Dunes. He also strove to spread his ideas through his writings such as "Mingei Nyūmon" (Introduction to Mingei) and "Mingei Undō Shiken" (My Views on the Mingei Movement). He passed away in 1972. Throughout his life, he practiced the reconstruction of society and life through Mingei.

< Related Figures >

Shoya Yoshida, Soetsu Yanagi, Kanjiro Kawai, Shoji Hamada