The Nabeshima Ware Offering Ceremony Exhibition

I handled the editing and writing of exhibition texts including leaflets and exhibition captions, for the commemorative project marking the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the Nabeshima Domain Kiln in Okawachiyama, organized by the Imari Nabeshima Ware Cooperative. The project spanned two venues: the Osaka-Kansai World Expo (September 2025) and the Saga Prefectural Museum of Art (February–March 2026).

Nabeshima ware from Okawachiyama in Imari, Saga Prefecture, marks its 350th anniversary in 2025. Its history dates back to the Edo period, when the Nabeshima clan gathered master ceramic artists and established Hanyo, the clan kiln, keeping its advanced techniques strictly confidential. Although the clan kiln disappeared following the abolition of feudal domains in the Meiji period, the spirit of craftsmanship lived on, and the legacy of Nabeshima ware began a new chapter as privately produced porcelain. Since 1989, the Kenjō no Gi has been performed every year, presenting heishi(ceremonial sake vessels) to local leaders of municipalities home to renowned castles across Japan.

Both the Expo and the museum exhibition shared the Kenjō no Gi as their central theme, but the approach to each differed. At the Expo held in Osaka and drawing visitors from across Japan and around the world, many attendees would have little or no prior familiarity with Nabeshima ware. The priority was therefore to convey its technical excellence and prestige with clarity and immediacy. The accordion-fold leaflet offered concise introductions to the design background of each of the twelve pieces and the stories behind their respective tribute destinations.

The museum exhibition built on the Expo display and expanded its scale, bringing together all 29 surviving heishi held in Okawachiyama. With the exhibition taking place in Saga Prefecture, where a more informed and engaged audience was expected, the texts went deeper into the meaning behind the Kenjō no Gi itself. In the ceremony, each heishi is produced as a pair (one for presentation and one for preservation) with the latter kept in Okawachiyama as living reference material for future potters. By putting this into words, I aimed to convey that the pieces on display are not simply spares, but a baton passed forward in the continuity of craft.