Mingei, An Art Retreat in Japan, with Monica Dengo
"Pattern is the essence of beauty, form reduced to its primary elements" Soetsu Yanagi
Location: Kaoalpe Kama city, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Arrival date: May 16, 2026
Departure date: May 24, 2026
This year 2026 the focus will be the spirituality of Nature and traditional artisanship through the practice of handwriting and mark-making in every experience we live. We will be located in Kama city, in the Fukuoka prefecture. We will be immersed in the quiet and profound beauty of southern Japan, in the middle of the countryside, surrounded by rice fields and mountains.
The Class
Throughout the week, we will pay special attention to the role of patterns in Japanese culture and folk art. We will also explore how the Japanese folk crafts movement, Mingei, has contributed to the preservation of traditional crafts. Soetsu Yanagi (1889–1961), the founder of the Mingei movement, developed a theory to explain why objects created by unknown craftsmen possess such profound beauty. Our retreat will be an immersion into this calligraphic and design culture.
Special Artisan's Days
There will be two special artisan’s days: one in Koishiwara, a small pottery village in the mountains where we’ll learn how to make marks on ceramic in Taketoshi Oota pottery studio, and one in Akizuki, another village in the mountains where Mr.Inoue will teach us the process of making washi (Japanese paper) and where we’ll make our own sheets of paper to be used in our artist’s books.
Maximum number of participants: 16.
Location and accommodation
We will live and work at Kahoalpe, a location in Kama, Fukuoka Prefecture. Here students will have their accommodation in single or double rooms and will have access to a beautiful classroom, open at any time during day and night.
To see a video of the previous Mingei 2025, visit a Video on YouTube
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