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From the collection of Ararat Gallery TAMA

588 Items featured online

Functional object, Inaniwa Udon, c. 1900s

Inaniwa Udon

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All rights reserved

This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.

Attribution

Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)

Gift of the Japan-Australia Foundation and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council, 1981

Gift of the Japan-Australia Foundation and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council, 1981; MDP Photography & Video

Have a question? Contact Ararat Gallery TAMA
Inaniwa Udon - top

Reuse this media

Can you reuse this media without permission? No (with exceptions, see below)

Conditions of use

All rights reserved

This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.

Attribution

Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)

Gift of the Japan-Australia Foundation and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council, 1981

Gift of the Japan-Australia Foundation and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council, 1981; MDP Photography & Video

Have a question? Contact Ararat Gallery TAMA

Historical information

‘The Art of the Japanese Package’ was an exhibition that toured to 10 Australian and 11 New Zealand public galleries in 1979 and 1980. The touring exhibition comprised 221 objects of traditional Japanese packaging which extended from ceramics, wood and paper to woven fibre containers.

At the conclusion of the tour, The Japan Foundation and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council donated the vast majority of the exhibition to the Ararat Gallery for its permanent collection.

Combining the natural qualities of bamboo, paper and straw with delicate craftsmanship, these unique objects express Japanese aesthetics as applied through fibre crafts. In Japan, the qualities and traits of natural materials are exploited rather than hidden. The texture of straw, the septa of bamboo are not concealed but lovingly incorporated into the whole.

In 1979 Hideyuki Oka, curator of ‘The Art of the Japanese Package’ wrote:

“In no way self-conscious or assertive, these wrappings have an artless and obedient air that greatly moves the modern viewer. They are whispered evidence of the Japanese ability to create beauty from the simplest products of nature. They also teach us that wisdom and feeling are especially important in packaging because these qualities, or the lack of them, are almost immediately apparent. What is the use of a package if it shows no feeling?”

The descriptions of the featured objects were written by Hideyuki Oka, curator of ‘The Art of the Japanese Package’, 1979.

Physical description

Hand-cut sections of cryptomeria wood make a simple but dignified box for dried noodles. The shop in Akita City that sells this product was founded in 1665. The label, with its numerous seal impressions, has the look of an old-time legal document, and this is fitting, for it is actually the shop's pedigree. It records, among other things, the name of the founder and the fact that the shop, originally located in Inaba, once sold its noodles to the feudal lord of the region by special appointment.
- Professor Hideyuki Oka, curator.