Activity Reports

Main Activities

Human Exchange and Cultural Cooperation

Community Leaders and Youth Exchange

Visual Arts

• International Exhibition Participation Program
• Exhibitions Abroad Program
• Exhibitions in Japan Program
• Sharing Information
• Venice Biennale
• YOKOHAMA TRIENNALE

Performing Arts

• Performances Abroad
• Invitational Performances in Japan
• Sharing Information

Audio-Visual and Publication Exchange

• Publishing
• Film and TV
• Japanese Film Screenings Overseas
• Film Festivals in Japan
• Sharing Information

The Japan Foundation China Center

Exhibition Motif

The production of porcelain began in Japan some 400 years ago. At that time, the country was in a state of 'national isolation' (sakoku), but exports were extensively made through the offices of the Dutch East India Company. Diverse wares were made in response to the worldwide market, and a difference between 'eastern' and 'western' types is apparent, clearly intended to reflect discrepancies in lifestyle and taste. This can be especially clearly seen in the case of Nabeshima porcelain, which was made both as gift items for the Tokugawa Shogunate, and on commission from European royal and noble houses.
Porcelain is the most technologically advanced ceramic, and was enthusiastically sought after by European merchants, first in China and then in Japan. It was produced for the first time in Europe in the 18th century, at Meissen (Germany), and rapidly copied, but always retaining its original Chinese and Japanese influences.
Introduced in this exhibition are porcelains produced between the 1610s, when the first Japanese porcelain was made, and the 1750s when its export was most active.

Venue / Date	International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza (Exhibition title: JIKI: Japanese Porcelains 1610~1760) 26 June 2004 - 7 November 2004 The Japan Cultural Institute in Paris (Exhibition title: Imari-Porcelains for Shoguns and European Kings, 1610-1760) 26 November 2004 - 2 April 2005 The Royal Museums of Art and History (Exhibition title: Imari-Porcelains for Shoguns and European Kings, 1610-1760) 15 April 2005 - 28 August 2005
Organizers	The Japan Foundation, the City of Faenza and the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza
Special Cooperating Institute	Kyushu Ceramic Museum
Sponsor	Japan Airlines
Curator	Mr. Koji Ohashi, Vice-Director of the Kyushu Ceramic Museum
Sections	Total: 97 works / 113 items (including 1 Important Cultural Property)
	(1)	The Origins and Development of Imari: Japanese taste 18 works / 22 items
	(2)	Porcelains for Japanese Shogun and European Kings: differing lifestyles and tastes reflect different shapes and designs 40 works / 44 items
	(3)	Masterpieces of Imari for the European Market: designs, forms and styles for European rulers 25 works / 33 items
	(4)	European Ceramics Imitating Imari Originals 14 works / 14 items

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