How Mogi Folk Art inspired Mingei Renaissance in Tokyo

Posted by PSEDEN

2025-06-27

On 2025-06-27

In the heart of Koenji, Tokyo’s Bohemia neighborhood, Mogi folk art carves a space where traditional and contemporary design collide. The store, opened in 2022 by Keiko Kitamura and Terry Ellis, is described as a pair mingiiJapan’s folk craft movement supports the beauty found in daily hand-used items. Since its opening, Mogi Folk Art has gained an international following for its unique furniture, household items and clothing that bring together in the keen eyes of its owners.

Ellis is a famous figure in the Japanese design and craft scene, while Kitamura is an experienced buyer looking at the neglected person. Together, the couple offers a philosophy that craft should be alive, not archives. The store embodies the couple’s decades-long work in the world. Looking back at their shared careers is essentially drawing the revival of Mingei, so they have mastered the current revitalization.

At the beginning, it was a messy road. The two began working as buyers of lifestyle giant beams in the 90s, and in the early 2000s they first began introducing Japanese crafts into the spin. But, as Ellis recalls, objects at the time were considered so old-fashioned that the press “didn’t even look at them.”

From Okinawa to Tokyo: Mingei Revivalists

Mingei translated as “folk craft” in English, is a movement born in the late 1920s and a response to the rise of mass production. Led by art critics and philosophers Soetsu Yanagi and Potters Shoji Hamada and Kanjiro Kawai, the movement sought to enhance the handicrafts of ordinary people – ceramics, textiles, wood products, as objects of beauty and cultural value. Although it became a defining aesthetic in the middle of the century, the movement eventually pulled out of public attention as consumer tastes shifted.

It is the son of Soetsu Yanagi – the legendary industrial designer Sori Yanagi, who first teaches Ellis and Kitamura the fun of folk craftsmanship. About thirty years ago, he suggested that they travel to Okinawa to pursue this interest. “At that time, no one went,” Kitamura recalled. “It’s cheaper to fly to Hawaii.”

The couple’s first trip in 1997 was a revelation. Okinawa ceramics (known for their earth palettes, robust nature and bold abstract patterns) are different from anything they have ever seen in Japan and do speak to the couple. But when they started introducing debris on the beams, they received little attention. “Crafts are not stylish,” Ellis said with a smile. Okinawa itself still carries post-war luggage: newspapers mainly cover American military antics, rather than handicrafts.

However, through repeated trips (now already over 100 times and counting) and the cult influence of crossbeams slowly, Okinawa pottery will get rid of its provincial image. Kitamura and Ellis first introduce simple plates without decoration, then carefully incorporate the colorful works of color and gradually blend the Okinawan craft tradition with the “sharp design” audience in Tokyo.

By the 2010s, what was once considered “old-fashioned” had already been coveted, with Japanese crafts launching in 2003’s in-house brand Fennica, hosted by Ellis and Kitamura.

Mingei’s international language

Mingei’s history follows a similar path to bridging culture. Ellis noted: “The founders of Mingei look west, first in China and South Korea, then in Europe and the United States. Mingei always speaks internationally.” Today, the shelves of Moji folk art reflect this: African masks sit next to Mashiko Stoneware; Tottori boards share space with indigo fabrics, creating a space that feels eclectic and coherent. Common points? Hand Traces – Quality Ellis values rather than beauty.

Nevertheless, Ellis noted that the influence of the early Mingei movement was European movement, seeking inspiration from Africa and South America only in the 1960s. Mogi offers a variety of African artworks, and Ellis believes it has an affinity with Japanese handicrafts. “It is generally believed that Mingei shares its sensitivity with Scandinavian design, but I doubt it. Of course, there is a common emphasis on function, but I see more kinship between Japanese and African art.” He believes that this similarity lies not only in aesthetics, but also in the fact that it is in the sense of the arts. Spirit Utilities – A vessel that acts as a ceremony, not just decoration. Japanese masks, costumes and religious idols respond to the embodied and invisible power of West African sculptures and textiles. “It’s not art for art.”

Future: Production Continuity

Ellis has always known that his role is about choice rather than creation. He admitted: “I tried my hand on Okinawa’s ceramics, but realized I had no talent. I knew I was good at choosing – that’s where my power lies.” This clarity of purpose defines Moorish folk art and pushes it – Ellis’s curatorial instinct for the nuanced approach to the generative relationships of Kitamura. “My mission is to find a middle ground in the expertise of our committees and local manufacturers,” she explained.

Their philosophy extends to Moji’s clothing collection, with the two designing it entirely in-house. They refuse to plague the dilutions that many small or avant-garde brands (Ellis: “Designers often start with something great and then have to water it because of time and cost”), and they choose to focus on simple, fragments of elements: lenses, t-shirts, sneakers, sneakers, and very quickly jackets. Palettes – indigo, khaki, beige – reflect the earthy tones of their objects, as if they transform the materiality of folk art into wearable forms. Each garment is produced through long-term beam connections, using fabrics whose quality and life exceed the trend, with the result being a garment exuding quiet confidence.

Last year, Ellis and Kitamura further expanded their vision with a new dedicated gallery space. Open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Mogi & Mogi Gallery Shop serves as a one-time display, outstanding work, and often focus on the overlooked sounds of attractions: female artists occupied by a history of crafts dominated by Japanese men, and older manufacturers with neglected archives. Despite the years of collection, Ellis recalls affectionately the first masterpiece he received – the bowl of the famous Mingei Potter Shoji Hamada. “I’ve met Mingei objects before, but this is the other one. It’s the first time I’m thinking, ‘If I don’t buy, I won’t be able to fall asleep!'”

The core of Ellis and Kitamura is still driven by the mission of creating spaces that may feel the same spark, and proves through the quiet power of choice that when an object does not need to speak, it does not need explanation.

More information

Mogi folk art is open every week from Thursday to Monday.

Mogi & Mogi Gallery Shop opens on Saturday, Sunday and Monday or on an appointment.

For more information, visit their website or find them on @Instagrammogi_folk_art and @mogi_and_mogi.

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