mingei

English

Etymology

Japanese 民衆的な工芸, “hand-crafted art of ordinary people”.

Noun

mingei (uncountable)

1. A Japanese folk art movement focusing on inexpensive hand-made everyday items.
   • 2007 December 23, William L. Hamilton, “Tatsuzo Shimaoka, 88, Master of Pottery, Is Dead”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     He studied industrial ceramics at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, inspired by a visit to the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in 1938, where he encountered mingei philosophy, and its objects, for the first time.

Anagrams

• Gemini