Meaning of KOGEI (gist)

By TSUKAMOTO Tatsuru
Member of Japan Art History Society

The Japanese word of KOGEI（工芸 pronounce ko-u-gei）is widely used in Japanese common life, but its definition is so fuzzy although many people have image for the objects. There's no definition with word, there's no expectation to be born mutual understanding between man and it makes development of culture hard .

For Japanese people, the most popular image for KOGEI might be small sized handmade, rather old fashioned tools used in daily life so often such as ceramic plates, dyeing tote bag, lacquer painted stationary box, iron teakettle used at tea ceremony etc., but there's no certain definition for KOGEI.

In other hand, there is the word of "kogyo" (工業 in Chinese kongyo ) . It means industry. The most of Japanese understood that "kogyo" is mass production using big power machine at factory. Naturally, plate, bag, box, teakettle etc. are made as industrial products, and products are very closed with hand made ones. There are very little different between with same kind tools made at industrial factory using big machines and KOGEI products. So, it is difficult to distinguish KOGEI from Kogyo. And then, some one wonders that is there any need to divide KOGEI and industry, though someone says that they might be distinguished , because mass production is coarse and not beautiful so often.

　In Japanese KOGEI is written as 工芸, and industry－stand for "kogyo" is written as 工業, and letter of 工 ( gong ) has meaning of " to make" , and in old China-――even on all over the world, there were neither KOGEI nor "kogyo". Only 「工」was existed, and to paint a picture, carve a statue or construct a building are also expressed by gong (工)，and among nations using Chinese letter, at least in Japan, although the reason is unknown, word of KOGEI is not used till early Meiji era. On that time, around 1870~5, KOGEI means industrial technology. And then, according to the time goes on, KOGEI had the tend to be understood as making beautiful utility daily using tools. But, this understanding is rather nonsense because no one could express what "beautiful" or "utility mean.

In my opinion, KOGEI is a part of Kogyo (industry), and they are fundamentally small scaled goods made by one man, by hands though using weak powered machine, mainly followiｎg classical making methods and not to put together separated parts.

KOGEI might be divide several type according to its way to make or purpose of making.　For example, a ceramic jar made by one man which has original form and decollations created by personal idea is to be called "artistic KOGEI", and we'd like to specialize "artistic KOGEI" as KOGEI for international language.