Documentary - Kakiemon, the Successor

[Drax]

During a recent flight, I got to see an interesting documentary called "The Successor," which looks at the Kakiemon kiln in Arita, Japan. The documentary provides some interesting insights from different perspectives (museum curator, a collector, the family) of the passing of the torch from Kakiemon XIV to Kakiemon XV. Fair warning, the story is "incomplete" (i.e., the torch does not get passed in it).

For my part, I thought the most interesting insights were from XIV. In particular, he describes some of the downsides of being claimed as an Important Intangible Cultural Property, and the constraints that the government puts on him because of it.

Here's a link to a trailer of it.

[Drax]

Oh, and I see that XIV just died in mid-June of this year.

[Evan Draper]

You can watch the entire 49 minute movie on Vimeo for $3:
http://vimeo.com/ondemand/kakiemon/52844144

[debunix]

Looks quite interesting--thanks for posting that link, Evan. I'll check it out later after work.

[kikula]

Thanks for that, Drax. It's a very beautiful and moving little film. I thought it did a wonderful job of conveying the tension there, between the exquisite and important weight of tradition and the very felt impulse to create freely. Painful. I'd love to meet the son again in 30 or 40 years.
Terrific cinematography.