Birthdate: 1984 April 2nd
E-Mail: hutterryu@yahoo.de

Academic Background:

• 2003 – 2009: Master study in Japanology, East Asian Art History & Sciences of Religion at the University of Zürich
• 2008 – 2010: Curatorial Assistant of Japanese Arts, Museum Rietberg Zürich
• Since 2009: PhD study in East Asian Art History at the University of Zürich

Research Topics & Interests:

• Japanese Art Crafts
• Martial Arts of Japan
• Japanese History of the Sengoku, Edo and Bakumatsu period

 

Master project (November 2007 – October 2008)

Title:

Japanese Swords and Their Uses – A Research into the different Forms, Shapes, and Variations of Swords, as well as Their Significance as Weapons, Treasures and Objects of Cultural Heritage

Brief Description:

The Japanese swords are maybe the most representative objects to symbolize Japanese identity. Since their appearance in the early Kofun period, swords were used in myriad ways and played significant roles throughout Japan’s history. Beginning with the use in the martial arts, as for example, the “Art of sword testing,” swords were used in a large variety of contexts, including religious ceremonies. In addition, they were appreciated as temple or shrine treasures, highlighting their significance a cultural objects.

In terms of material culture, the sheer variety of Japanese sword types is also remarkable, including numerous types of blades and mountings, exhibiting a surprising range of form, material, and decoration.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Japanese swords is their role of symbolizing Japanese identity in both positive and negative ways. The swords had important roles in both creating political change and in the execution of numerous innocent Southeast Asian victims. The Japanese swords were a key ingredient in every Japanese war and had great significance as symbols of warriors. It may be said that swords constitute the witnesses for change throughout Japan’s history for good and bad. How indeed will swords reflect the Japanese and their culture in the future?

PhD project (Since June 2009)

Title:

Wajima Lacquer – Examining the Success of the “the Most Representative Lacquer Ware of Japan” and Its Relationship to other Lacquer Types

Brief Description:

There exists little doubt that lacquer ware constitute an important part of Japanese artistic traditions. This can be seen in the long history of lacquer in Japan and in the numerous different types of lacquer that exist from Hokkaidô in the north to Okinawa in the south. In Japan today, approximately fifty lacquer centers in Japan produce objects in a wide variety of forms that range from objects for daily use, like chopsticks or cups, brand names of famous designers, and masterpieces of lacquer art created by numerous masters.

Of all the different lacquer styles in Japan, Wajima Lacquer has been described the most representative. Wajima is a town in the Ishikawa Prefecture that has long been the site of one of the biggest lacquer-ware industries of Japan. Wajima was developed more than three hundred years ago and its techniques became famous for the production of a unique lacquer style for objects of daily use. The lacquer artisans decorated their objects with different decoration styles, eventually reaching the interest of numerous art collectors. Today, the term Wajima lacquer stands for high quality lacquer ware with fine decorations. As a result, the Wajima ware enjoys a high status in Japanese culture, so much so that it may be called one of the most successful Japanese art centers.

Why did a regional site like Wajima become one of the most representative lacquer centers of Japan? While many provinces utilized popular trading routes such as the Tôkaidô Highway that played important roles for the economy of many centrally placed provinces, Wajima was not connected to major overland trading routes. Partly due to its location on a peninsula, Wajima, was only connected by land to its direct neighbor, the Kaga Province. Wajima was, however, relatively close to Kyoto, an important economic and cultural center, and this proximity was utilized through important naval trading routes. Although the region of Wajima had many disadvantages in terms of location, it was thus able to overcome them and to compete with other important lacquer centers, such Kanazawa or Aizu, who were more centrally located.

So what are then the reasons for the success of Wajima Lacquer? Where can we see advantages in relation to other lacquer centers? And why have the Japanese called Wajima Lacquer the most “representative lacquer” of Japan? And what does it mean to be the most representative? I believe that it is not only interesting to ask what the lacquers of Wajima represents for the Japanese, but what they represent to the world, especially since UNESCO has recently declared the Wajima area to be an Important Cultural Heritage site of the world.