The Form of Life: Shōwa Crafts as Seen in Katsuaki Toyoda's Journey

An exhibition catalog focusing on Katsuaki Toyoda, an artisan who led the craft world in Kyushu after WWII.

While primarily creating cast bronze works, Toyoda continuously questioned the relationship between craft and daily life, based on the philosophy of "enriching life." This book traces his journey from his early days to his later years, and also introduces works by Showa-era artisans and designers with whom he was involved.

The content highlights how "craft" was not merely an artistic expression but an activity intertwined with life itself, by shedding light not only on his substantial metalwork but also on his perspective on daily necessities and household tools.

Toyoda's attitude of exploring the relationship between rich living and craft, even before terms like "slow living" and "LOHAS" became common, resonates with contemporary interest in lifestyle, folk crafts, and lifestyle design.

This exhibition features approximately 100 works by Showa-era artisans and designers, in addition to those by Katsuaki Toyoda. It is a book that traces the expansion of craft in post-war Japan and the "forms of life" of that era.

[Title] Forms of Life: Showa-era Crafts through the Journey of Katsuaki Toyoda
[Publisher] Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art
[Publication Date] 2007
[Page Count] 140 pages
[Size] Approx. 210 x 232 x 10mm
[Format] Softcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] SEIKATSU NO KATACHI TOYODA KATSUAKI NO AYUMI NI MIRU SHOWA NO KOGEI
[Author/Editor, etc.] Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art / Ed.
[Printing] -
[ISBN] -
[Condition] Used [5] Good (Body: minor scuffs on edges/cover, slight stains on top edge)
[Accessories] None
[Featured in] -
[Related Exhibition] "Forms of Life: Showa-era Crafts through the Journey of Katsuaki Toyoda" (Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, 2007)

Katsuaki Toyoda (1906-1990)

Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1906. Artisan.
Mainly active in the field of metal casting and metalwork, he played a significant role in craft education and the craft movement in post-war Kyushu.

Based on traditional craft techniques, he viewed craft as a part of culture and pursued it as something that "enriches life." As an educator, he also nurtured many successors, contributing to the development of post-war Japanese craft.

His work, resonating with the Mingei movement, lifestyle crafts, and post-war design thought, continues to quietly influence contemporary perspectives on life and craft.

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