THE CULTURE OF "MOTTAINAI" SEEN AS SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN JAPAN'S CERAMIC-PRODUCING REGIONS AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT : Part I: The Tokoname Region of Aichi Prefecture

Abstract

In this paper, the goal will be to explore the Tokoname Region of Aichi Prefecture as one of the representative ceramic producing regions in Japan, in particular, examining its special characteristics and grappling with how the cultural concept of mottainai might appear as part of the identity of the region in question. This research is based on documentary literature, a field survey. As a result of Investigation, the author can summarize below the special cultural characteristics of mottainai as seen in the ceramic-producing region of the Tokoname in Aichi Prefecture. 1) The lifestyle principle of mottainai in the Tokoname Region is shared by residents through common modes of behavior and lifestyle, and it has transmitted and encouraged the thorough and optimal use of scrap and discarded pottery. 2) The special characteristics of symbiosis with the environment in the Tokoname Region are passed on as an expression of compassion toward people who live in harmony with their environment, people who evaluate the special characteristics of materials at hand and focus their knowledge subjectively. 3) Today, there are indications of actions designed to build regional identity based on an inheritance of a cultural lifestyle of traditional symbiosis with the environment while local people use tangible and intangible historical assets in a variety of ways.