Pucker Gallery hosted Artist Yoshinori Hagiwara, Scholar and Professor Andrew Maske, and Gallery Director Bernie Pucker, with the aid of friend and translator Mugi Hanao, for a discussion of what was and what is the Mingei (the Art of the People) Tradition. This event covered the foundational history of the "Unknown Craftsmen" and the panelists then engaged in a conversation about Hagiwara's relationship to and about the extension of this important ceramic tradition. 

Additionally, this event featured a haiku contest where contestants wrote an original haiku inspired by one of the works featured in Yoshinori Hagiwara’s exhibition. Naoko Takayanagi wrote the winning haiku based on Yoshinori Hagiwara’s Big plate, black glaze:

YH786

Sleek onyx glazed plate
Resembling cherry tree bark
Reminds me of home