U-50 INTERNATIONAL HOKURIKU KOGEI (artisan crafts) AWARDS are awards given to young craftspeople - artists, craftsmen, and designers who are age 50 or younger - who work in fields related to KOGEI (artisan crafts).
This competition comprehensively evaluates and recognizes not only the craftworks, expressions and techniques, but also, the individual craft workers and their approaches that include their thinking, efforts and activities, strategies and implementation, and vision for the future.
Its goals are to reevaluate the existing stereotypes about KOGEI by going back to a neutral standpoint, acknowledging the global trend in which the field of KOGEI is becoming borderless and its disciplines interrelated, and to create opportunities for international networking and collaboration, and from there, to paint a new future vision for the world of KOGEI.
The eligible techniques and materials include lacquerware, metalworks, casting, wood carving, hand-made paper, silk textiles, ceramics, as well as glass, leather, dying-and-weaving, and many other crafts historically practiced around the world.
We look forward to receiving many submissions from KOGEI individuals who are demonstrating the kind of appeal that can only be found in KOGEI that simultaneously embody both tradition and innovation, and are practicing a new kind of craft-making work.
Grand Prize: 2,000,000 JPY
(1 individual or group)
Excellence Award: 500,000 JPY
(1 individual or group)
Honorable Mention: 300,000 JPY
(4 individuals or groups)
Sompo Japan Nipponkoa: Special Prize: 300,000 JPY
(1 individual or group)
The Collaborative Creation Program (for the 6 individual or group who win Grand prize Excellence Award, Honorable mention)
* The finalists’ works and the works of The Collaborative Creation Program are exhibited at the Takaoka Art Museum from Nov. 25 to 30, 2017.
The exhibition at “WORLDS KOGEI (artisan crafts) 100” will be restart from Dec. 2, 2017.
Lectures and panel discussions will be held with experts and committee members invited from all over the world.
November 18th 2017 (Sat)
14:30pm-17:30pm
Toyama Prefectural
Museum of
Art and Design,
Second floor Foyer
(3-20 Kibamachi, Toyama
930-0806 Japan)
Entrance Fee: Free
Capacity: 150 guests
By Rupert Faulkner
(Senior Curator for Japan at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London)
Rupert Faulkner
Rupert Faulkner is Senior Curator for Japan at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. Born in Yokohama and educated in Britain, he graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Japanese Studies in 1977. His doctoral thesis on the history of Seto and Mino ceramics was accepted by Oxford University in 1988. He joined the V&A in 1984. His current focus of research is modern Japanese design.
Koji Hatakeyama
Born in 1956 in Toyama. Graduated from Kanazawa College of Art, This department consists (Metal casting). Won the Takashimaya Art prize of the Takashimaya culture foundation, the grand prize of the Sano Renaissance Metal Casting Exhibition in 2007, the MOA museum of art award of the 18th Mokichi Okada Award in 2012. Currently reside in Takaoka city, Toyama. Professor of Kanazawa College of Art.
Chiaki Hayashi
Co-founded Loftwork Inc. in 2000 and currently serves as its representative director. Loftwork is a new style of creative agency that boasts a network of over 25,000 creators. Each year Loftwork rolls out over 200 projects, including web, community, and spacial design initiatives. Loftwork operates the digital fabrication cafe, FabCafe. Hayashi is Japan Liaison to the Director of MIT Media Lab, She has recently founded “Hidakuma” which aims to rebuild nature and local creativity in Gifu prefecture, and serves as the President and CEO.
November 23rd 2017
(Thu/Holiday)
14:00pm-17:30pm
WING WING Takaoka,
Fourth floor Hall
(1-8 Suehirocho, Takaoka
933-0023 Japan)
Entrance Fee: Free
Capacity: 400 guests
This will leave this website and access the event page on
The Kitanippon Shimbun’s website.
* In the event that we receive a large number of applications, successful candidates will be chosen by raffle.
* Speakers are subject to change.
* In the event that we receive a large number of applications, successful candidates will be chosen by raffle.
* Speakers are subject to change.
The INTERNATIONAL HOKURIKU KOGEI SUMMIT “WORLDS KOGEI (artisan crafts) 100” is an exhibition with the theme of “THIS IS KOGEI / TRADITION & INNOVATION” that examines the progression and movement of KOGEI around the world, exploring the meaning of the culture of KOGEI and its future possibilities through over 100 pieces of artwork.
Winning works from the “U-50 INTERNATIONAL HOKURIKU KOGEI (artisan crafts) AWARDS” as well as work curated by the world-renown committee of the “INTERNATIONAL HOKURIKU KOGEI SUMMIT”, and works by KOGEI artists representing Toyama and Hokuriku will be displayed. What kogei “conveys”, and what it “creates”. See with your eyes, feel, and think…and please thoroughly enjoy the charm of KOGEI.
Images: Works by the Finalists of “U-50 INTERNATIONAL HOKURIKU KOGEI (artisan crafts) AWARDS” (From the top left)
Daigo Adachi “result of scaling –vitality-”, Akio Niisato “luminescence…”, Marcin Rusak “Perishable vases”, (From the bottom left) Jong Min Lee “Untitled”,
Takakuni Kawahara “Continuation of non-continuation”, Esmé Hofman “2”
Daigo Adachi “result of scaling –vitality-”
Jong Min Lee “Untitled”
Takakuni Kawahara “Continuation of non-continuation”
Esmé Hofman “2”
Marcin Rusak “Perishable vases”
Akio Niisato “luminescence…”
Period Nov. 16 2017 (Thu)–
Jan. 8 2018 (Mon/Holiday)
Opening Hours 9:30–18:00
(Last admission is 30 minutes before closing.)
Venue Toyama Prefectural Museum of
Art and Design (TAD)
2F exhibition room 2
Daigo Adachi, Tsuyoshi Ueda, Tomotsugu Otsuka, Wataru Ogata, Junichiro Kazama, Nobuko Kato, Shiori Kaneko, Asaho Kamiya, Takakuni Kawahara, Kohei Kishimoto, Runa Kosogawa, Yasuyoshi Komiya, Masahiro Sasaki, Rui Sasaki, Fumihiko Sano, Gaku Shakunaga, Yui Shakunaga, Nami Takahashi, Michito Taniguchi, Akio Niisato, Atsushi Handa, Taiju Hannya, Chiharu Fujii, Yoshihiko Murata, Mai Yamamoto, Chiemi Watanabe, Zhaoyu Chen, Yiming Huang, Wenjing Shen, Jian Tang, Kaibo Xiong, Simone Crestani, Laboratorio Controprogetto, Giacomo Moor, Moreno Ratti, Studio Zanellato / Bortotto, Esmé Hofman, Sae Honda, Nienke Hoogvliet, Klaas Kuiken, Christien Meindertsma, Simone Post, Sejin Bae, Ryungjae Jung, Hyunju Kim, Joon Yong Kim, Seulgi Kwon, Jong Min Lee, Sung Hoon Park, Jiwoon Yang, Baku Sakashita, Ilona Broeseliske, Gareth Neal, Marcin Rusak, Silo Studio, SWINE, Tanya Aguiniga, Samantha Bitman, Michael Milano, Ceramic Seeds Co., Ltd, Kuo-Jen Chen, Yu-Jui Chou, Chien-An Su, Yenchen & Yawen Studio, Ching-Chih Wu( “U-50 INTERNATIONAL HOKURIKU KOGEI (artisan crafts) AWARDS” selected craftmen/artsts)
Ryota Aoki, Masaya Ike, Toru Ishii, Tsutomu Iwasaki, Michiko Uehara, Naoki Sakai, Midori Tsukada, Toru Tsuji, Kenji Toki, Shuji Nakagawa, Masataka Hosoo, Eriko Horiki, Tomoaki Mizuno & Wakana Ino / TANSAN DESIGN STUDIO, Ikuko Yamashita, Seiko Wakasugi, Thomas Bohle, Jiaguo Chen, Tiangan Chen, Jingshi Pan, Lan Xu, Andrea Anastasio, Andrea Branzi, Michele De Lucchi, Lorenzo Palmeri, Anna Gardu, Richard Hutten, Dirk vander Kooij, Téjo Remy, Sisung An, Gyung No Lee & Ryu Sook Park, Seunghee Lee, Sungkyu Park & Sanggill Jung, Jucheol Yun, Simon Hasan, Hitomi Hosono, Kevin the Orkney Furniture Maker, Junko Mori, Nic Webb, Michael Dinge, Aurélie Guillaume, Jesse Harrod, Luanne Martineau, Bayne Peterson, Ying-Hsiu Chen, Ro Wei Hung, Jam Wu, Yi-Sheng Wu, Yuan Yi (Selected craftmen/artsts by committee members)
Also Selected works of KOGEI artists representing Toyama and Hokuriku will also be on display.
Toyama Prefecture
Toyama prefectural artistic and cultural association, Toyama Cultural Foundation, Toyama Prefectural Board of Education
Ambasciata d’ Italia Tokyo, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Japan, Blitish council, Japan Foundation and so on
3-20 Kibamachi, Toyama 930-0806 Japan
TEL. +81-76-431-2711 FAX. +81-76-431-2712
Photography by Takaaki Koshiba
Hidetoshi Nakata
Representative Director of
TAKE ACTION FOUNDATION
Photography by Angela Moore
Jeong-cheol Choi
President of SQUARE GRAPHY,
Former President of Korean Craft &
Design Foundation