A portfolio of photographs of Japan, its unique style, at once so simple and so complex. Black & white photographs plus commentary, taken in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Sendai and Morioka, in connection with the World Craft Council Conference in 1978. Hardcover with jacket, 11” x 8.5”, 48 pages, 52 images, published 2009, $80 ppd.

1. JAPAN, ATTENTION TO DETAIL
photographs by Clare Brett Smith

2. Lantern, Yakushiji Temple
East Pagoda, Nara

3. In 1978 Japan was new and mysterious to me.
Unable to read the signs or understand the
language, I seldom knew what I was seeing.
Although unnerving in some ways, this made
for a certain innocence. I didn't have a ready
point of view. I didn't need to understand
what came up before my eyes. Everything in
Japan seemed careful, formal and composed,
intentional, with nothing left to chance. But
because I didn't know the intentions, my
reactions were just the opposite, free and
spontaneous. I could simply appreciate the
patterns, the shapes, the light and shadows
and enjoy all the details. This, then, is a
portfolio of what I saw and what I liked.
Clare Brett Smith
October 2009
1

4. Prayers, paper wishes tied to a line
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5. Kyoto

6. Nara, hands of Buddha
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7. Sendai, a monk at a festival
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8. Incense Sticks, above, and Temple Grove, with prayers, on the opposite page
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9. 7

10. Kyoto, pavement
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11. Kyoto, Water for the Tea Ceremony
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12. 10 Kyoto

13. Paper Umbrella Fragments 11

14. Serenity and the Rising Sun
After visiting the gardens of Kyoto, the temples, the monks, hearing far-off bells and
gongs, and experiencng the calm order of a formal tea ceremony, even the water shining
on the pavement doubled in meaning and became a sort of Zen reflection.
I brought notions from my childhood to Japan: a memory of magical paper flowers
opening and floating up through a glass of water, of tiny intricate toys, of kites and
kimonos, and Gilbert & Sullivan's "We are Gentlemen of Japan" from "The Mikado".
Later, frightening memories: the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, The Yellow Peril
propaganda, Nanking, Bataan, the horror of Hiroshima.
More recently: appreciation: of Japan's special imagination; of simple, elegant design in
the book "How to Wrap Three Eggs", of woodcuts, Zen Buddhism. of Sushi, Haiku,
Issey Miyake and Hello Kitty, of Kurosawa's films, and, to my personal benefit, the refined
technology of Nikon.
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15. Festival in Morioka
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16. 14 Morioka

17. Kyoto, Geisha
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18. Tokyo Restaurant
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19. Tokyo
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20. Kyoto, new and old
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21. Kyoto, the same women 19

22. Morioka woman
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23. Nara, laborer
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24. Kyoto playtime
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25. Princess Michiko in Kyoto
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27. In Morioka, preparing the teapot mold
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28. Temple Lanterns
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29. A Vase by Kawai Kanjio
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30. 28

31. Kawai's kiln on the left and, above, his study
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32. Kyoto
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33. The photographs on the following two pages
show woodworkers restoring the Yakushiji
temple in Nara. It's large scale, muscular
work, but Japanese wood-workers are also
known for clever and intricate highly skilled
whittling, like these small 6"- 8" birds we
bought at a store in Sendai.
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34. Yakushiji, Nara
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36. Morioka Farmhouse, above, and Haystacks, right
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37. 35

38. Rice Grains
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39. Morioka Farmhouse Porch
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40. 38

41. Feeling the Vigor of People,
Looking for Their Patterns
Did I "see Japan"? I am never sure how truthful my
perceptions are, but I have learned to trust them
anyway. The more I looked, the bolder I became
about photographing people. Soon I began to
notice action and energy more than stillness. I saw it
in the bounce of boys in harlequin-like parade
costumes, in streaks of light in dark city streets and
faces catching the light, open smiles and crinkled
faces, the fluid grace of Princess Michiko bowing to
greet a potter, the crammed and noisy Pachinko
parlors and friendly folks at the busy Yakatori all-
night eateries under the bridges in Tokyo.
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42. Sendai restaurant doorway
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43. 41

44. 42

45. SIGNS & PORTENTS... Was that really a restaurant behind
the indigo curtains? (It smelled good in the doorway.) Were
those welcome banners in the trees? Should we cross the
street? Is that an angry god or a kite? How do we know what
is expected and what is not allowed? It was strange to feel
so ignorant yet, somehow, not uncomfortable.
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46. The World Craft Council & "Living National Treasures"
Japan recognized craft masters as "Living National Treasures"
(formally defined as "Preservers of Important Intangible Cultural
Properties") long ago in 1950, and so it was particularly appropriate
for the World Craft Council to have its annual meeting in Japan.
KYOTO 1978 was not the final meeting of World Crafts Council, but
it was certainly the most impressive. Where else in the world would
Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko take such serious
interest in the many master craftspeople who attended from all
around the world?
Not all the delegates were actually craftspeople, but all were people
deeply interested in artisans, their work, their heritage and the high
degree of skill they represent. I was lucky to be one of them.
Above Left , Jack Lenor Larsen, textile designer
with an American potter.
Below Right, Daniel Cobblah, famous Ghanaian potter and VP for
Africa of the World Craft Council Below, Dora de Larios, ceramic artist from
California.
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47. Kawai Kanjiro, gave us an insight into the integrated life of an artist.
The words in his motto, "We Do Not Work Alone", are words that
could - and should - inspire all of us throughout our lives.
What was I doing in Kyoto? As folk art importers, Burge and I
represented the necessary commercial side of craft. Because we
Olga Fisch, Craft Specialist from Ecuador imported crafts from Haiti and Mexico, I was asked to represent the
many artisans of Haiti and to mount a photo and weaving exhibit,
The Serape Weavers of Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, in one of the
conference halls.
There were exhibits, speeches, demonstrations and classes,
and after the formal WCC business, an assortment of optional trips. One
trip was to northern Japan, to Morioka, where the famous iron teapots
are still made by hand, each hobnail pressed into the mold, one at a
Below, Barbara Adachi, American expert in
time. Although metalwork was the official focus in Morioka, we also
Bunraku, traditional Japanese puppetry, with Clare
hoped to see the countryside. We knew traditional agricultural life was Smith and one of our our Japanese hosts
intensive but we were amazed to see individual apples, still on the trees,
each one wrapped in paper to protect them from the wasps and hornets
that would attack the moment the fruit ripened.
Another visit, near Kyoto, gave us the chance to see the ongoing
restoration work of one of Nara's most celebrated ancient wooden
Temples, Yakushiji, a contrast of modern technology, hard hats and
steel scaffolding with ancient joinery.
A visit to the simple home and studio in Kyoto (a museum since his
death in 1966) of the modest but world famous potter,
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48. A ROYAL VISIT: Hands-on sessions with master craftspeople were part of the
World Craft Council 1978 Conference in Kyoto and my husband, Burges,
wearing glasses at left, enrolled in woodcarving. The other gentleman, also
wearing glasses, on the right, was Crown Prince Akihito, now Emperor of
Japan, with his wife, then Crown Princess Michiko.
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49. Introduction to the tea ceremony
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51. © copyright Clare Brett Smith, October 2009