JAPAN HOUSE 2026 | New Exhibition | JAPAN CRAFT: Art for Living – Hyakkō | Showcasing 2,000 Works by 123 Contemporary Japanese Makers | Opening Friday, November 6
Presented by JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, “JAPAN CRAFT | Art for Living – Hyakkō” opens on Friday, November 6, 2026 at JAPAN HOUSE Gallery on the Second Level of Ovation Hollywood. Shifting perceptions of Japanese craft from historical masterworks to a living, evolving daily practice, the exhibition brings together approximately 2,000 works by 123 living makers, craftspeople, and artisans.
Curated by Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd., the company behind MUJI, the exhibition spans a wide range of materials and techniques, including ceramics, glass, wood, leather, metal, and bamboo.
Hyakkō (百工) is a term exhibition curator, Nagata Takahiro uses to define the diverse works presented in this exhibition: hyaku (百), meaning “one hundred,” extends here to suggest “many kinds” or “countless,” and kō (工) refers to “craft,” understood broadly as people, practice, and the objects that result. Together, hyakkō speaks to the sheer diversity of individual makers and methods on view—no two works, and no two paths to making them, are ever quite the same.
The exhibition’s central focus is craft for everyday life. The collection highlights functional objects rather than decorative display pieces, framing craft as an ongoing relationship between the artisan, their life, environment, and materials. Works are presented not as finished statements of skill but as evidence of the creator’s innovation and self-expression, carrying the irregularity, chance, and quiet transformation inherent in the handmade.
This lens draws on distinctly Japanese sensibilities, including an appreciation for beauty in imperfection and poignancy in transience, while resisting any sense that contemporary Japanese craft is static or purely historical.
The Japanese mingei (folk craft) movement of the 1920s emphasized the beauty of ordinary, utilitarian objects and placed value on the aesthetic qualities of works made by unknown craftspeople. A mingei craft object could be understood as relatively anonymous: its beauty arose from tradition, utility, material and collective knowledge rather than individual artistic expression.
This exhibition, framed by its Japanese title Hyakkō, represents a significant shift. It retains the mingei value of ordinary objects and everyday beauty but places the individual maker back into the picture.
Curator’s Talk | Behind the “JAPAN CRAFT” Exhibition
Saturday, November 7 2026, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
JAPAN HOUSE Salon | Level 5
Join curator Takahiro Nagata for a fireside chat exploring the maker, stories , and philosophies behind the “JAPAN CRAFT” exhibition. Discover the people and idea shaping contemporary Japanese craft and gain a new perspective on 2,000 objects featured in the exhibition.
JAPAN CRAFT | Art for Living – Hyakkō
November 6, 2026 – January 24, 2027
JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles Gallery, Level 2
Mon-Fri: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Sat-Sun: 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Closed: Thanksgiving, November 26, 2026
Holiday | December 25, 2026
Admission Free