In celebration of the 125th anniversary of the birth of potter Bernard Leach, the Kyoto department store Takashimaya is holding a special exhibit of his works.
Leach was born in Hong Kong and and came to Japan early. He apprenticed to Shigekichi Urano (Kenzan VI) and became friends with the potter Shoji Hamada.
Together with Hamada, Leach created and promoted traditional Korean, Japanese, and Chinese pottery using techniques from England and Germany.
During his life, though, this work was considered ugly, even crude in the West.
In Japan, however, he remains a revered figure to this day. He was awarded the
Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1966 and Japan Foundation Cultural Award in 1974.
For those cycling, there are several bicycle parking lots nearby, the closest being at Takashimaya itself The lot is just south of Shijo on the east side of Teramachi Dori. It is 100 yen/hour. However, unless you are coming from the south, say Kyoto Station, a better ideas would be to park farther afield - along Oike, near Daimaru - and walk. The area is packed with foot traffic and cycling is prohibited on both Shijo and Kawaramachi in this part of town.
Information
Takashimaya is at the corner of Shijo-Kawaramachi in central Kyoto. The exhibit is on the 7th floor in the Grand Hall.
October 31 - November 11
600 yen for adults, 400 for university and high school students.
© CycleKyoto.com
Tags Japan Touring Kyoto Cycle Japanese