The Japan Foundation Cairo Office has opened its grand travelling exhibition “Yakishime: Earth Metamorphosis”, at the Horizon One gallery in Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Giza.

The exhibition was opened by Ambassador of Japan to Egypt Masaki Noke, Director of the Japan Foundation Cairo Office Yo Fukazawa, Head of the Fine Arts Sector Khaled Sorour, and the directors of several foreign cultural centres in Cairo such as Emin Boyraz; Director of Yunus Emre Institute for Turkish Culture, Shi; Director of the Chinese Cultural Centre, Director of Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture Liyaqat Ali; and director of the Korean Culture Centre Sang Keun Yang.

The exhibition presents a distinct aspect of Japanese culture through Yakishime works, spanning over almost 2000 years of art. Some of the exhibits are collections of the Tokyo and Kyoto National Museums, dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries AD, through the medieval ages, and up to our present time.

“The Japan Foundation annually organizes travelling exhibitions that tour outside Japan. These travelling exhibitions display works of our collections and cover a wide range of fields, including crafts, painting, photography, architecture, and design. In “Yakishime: Earth Metamorphosis” exhibition, we present two types of functional Yakishime wares: utensils used in the tea ceremony (Chanoyu), a major influence on the development of Japanese traditional culture, and tableware that have become an essential part of everyday life. This varies as non-utilitarian objects created by contemporary ceramic artists working in Yakishime”, explained Director of the Japan Foundation Fukazawa.

About Yakishime, it is an ancient Japanese primitive technique for making pottery, which is firing the hand-made clay pots at very high temperatures without glazing. Although it is one of the most primitive techniques, it developed in unique aspects in Japan. Yakishime production began in the fourth and fifth centuries, starting from the late twelfth century. It was produced in pottery centres like Bizen, Tokoname, Shigaraki.

The exhibition continuous until Thursday 22 August, and admission is free.