NEWS
Jingdezhen Ceramic University Delegation Visits Japan To Promote Ties Between Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale and Mino Ceramic Art Triennial Exhibition
Photo: Takayuki Takagi \ Mayor of Tajimi City , Receives the JCU Delegation
Invited by Yoshihide Ezaki, Governor of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and Takayuki Takagi, Mayor of Tajimi City, Yu Jianfeng, Dean of the School of Design Art of Jingdezhen Ceramic University, and Li Chao, Deputy Dean of the International School, visited Tajimi City, Japan from June 8 to 12, 2025. The visit aimed to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation between Jingdezhen Ceramic University and Japan in the field of ceramic art, especially to carry out in-depth discussions on business cooperation between the Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale and the Mino International Ceramic Art Triennale in Japan. It was also a return visit to the joint delegation of the Mino Ceramics Festival and Tajimi City that visited Jingdezhen Ceramic University in 2024, demonstrating the continuation and deepening of friendly exchanges between the two sides.
Photo: Working Meeting with the Mino Exhibition Organizing Committee
Takayuki Takagi, Mayor of Tajimi City, Japan, warmly received Yu Jianfeng and Li Chao at the city hall and held a brief meeting. First, on behalf of the city government, he welcomed the delegation of Jingdezhen Ceramic University and congratulated Jingdezhen city and Jingdezhen Ceramic University on their remarkable development and successfully held the "Journey of Ceramics -2023 Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale". This was another official ceramic art exchange activity between China and Japan led by the government since the delegation of Jingdezhen Ceramic University (Zhou Guozhen, Lyu Pinchang, etc.) visited the Mino region 36 years ago, which was of great significance. He looked forward to strengthening cultural interaction between the two sides through the visit. The delegation forwarded the invitation from the Jingdezhen Municipal Government to the Tajimi Municipal Government to participate in the 2025 "1819" Jingdezhen International Ceramic Carnival in China, and conveyed that the university welcomes the Japanese side to visit Jingdezhen Ceramic University and 2026 Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale. It is hoped that the Tajimi Municipal Government and the Mino region can actively participate in this activity, further enhance exchanges between the two sides in ceramic culture, industry and other aspects, and inject new vitality into the friendly cooperation between the two places. At the same time, he thanked Jingdezhen City and the Ceramic University for the invitation and said that he would actively consider relevant arrangements, and strive to take this as an opportunity to promote more practical exchanges between the governments and universities of the two places in the field of ceramic art.
Photo/The left and right : Comparison of the delegations of Jingdezhen Ceramic University visiting the studio of "Living National Treasure" Kato Kobei in Japan 36 years ago and now.
During the visit, the delegation of Jingdezhen Ceramic University held a working meeting with Hosono, Secretary General of the Mino Triennale Organizing Committee and Director of the Mino Ceramic Festival Affairs Bureau of Gifu Prefecture, at the Gifu Prefectural Museum of Modern Ceramic Art. The two sides agreed to carry out in-depth discussions on the future cooperation between the Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale and the Mino International Ceramic Art Triennale, and planned to carry out cooperation in many dimensions such as exhibition organization, mutual invitation of expert judges, academic support, and mutual linking of official websites. The two sides reached a preliminary consensus on the exhibition cooperation between the Mino International Ceramic Art Triennale and the Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale, and carried out in-depth exchanges on holding ceramic art exhibition activities in China, Japan and South Korea at an appropriate time. At the same time, the delegation visited the Tajimi City Pottery Design Research Institute, held working meetings with Harumi Nakajima, Director of the Institute, local officials and faculties, discussed cooperation intentions such as ceramic art exchanges between the university and the institute and mutual dispatch of residency artists, and further confirmed with Naho Yamashita, IAC Council Member, on organizing Japanese ceramic artists to participate in the 2026 China Jingdezhen IAC Congress & Assembly. Local voices in Mino lamented that this exchange broke the relative silence of official ceramic art exchanges between the two sides over the years and opened up a new path for ceramic art cooperation between the two countries.
Photo: Working Meeting Scene with Harumi Nakajima, Director of the Pottery Design Research Institute of Tajimi City and Local Officials.
The Mino International Ceramic Art Triennale and the Mino Ceramic Art Festival in Japan are world-famous ceramic cultural events and important international exchange platforms in the field of ceramic art and design. They are led by the budget of the Gifu Prefectural Government, the Governor of Gifu Prefecture serves as the chairman of the organizing committee, and the permanent venue is located in the Gifu Prefectural Museum of Modern Ceramic Art in Tajimi City. They aim to promote the development of the ceramic industry through ceramic design and international cultural exchanges. The Mino International Ceramic Art Triennale is an internationally recognized important ceramic art competition. Since its inception in 1986, it has successfully held thirteen sessions, among which the winners of the 12th gold award and one of the 13th silver award are all former graduates of Jingdezhen Ceramic University. The Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale, jointly created by Jingdezhen Ceramic University, the Jingdezhen Municipal People's Government and the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC), is an international academic platform, filling the gap of China, as a major ceramic country, without a top influenced ceramic art exhibition internationally, and playing an important role in promoting the diversified modern and contemporary ceramic art at home and aboard. In addition, accompanied by the Japanese side, the delegation also visited several ceramic factories, the Mino Ceramic Valley, the special exhibition of the late "Living National Treasure" Kato Kobei, and the local artists’ studio，gaining a more intuitive understanding of the development of traditional and modern ceramic art and industry in Japan.
Photo: Visiting the Local Youth Ceramic Art Exhibition in Mino Area
This visit was a further implementation of the cooperation content signed by the two sides on May 23, 2024. Through in-depth exchanges and on-site inspections, the two sides have made positive progress in exhibition cooperation, intercollegiate exchanges, ceramic intangible cultural heritage exchanges and other aspects, laying a more solid foundation for future cooperation in the field of ceramic art between China and Japan. Jingdezhen Ceramic University will continue to give play to its unique resource advantages in the field of ceramic art, actively promote the exchange and integration of Chinese ceramic culture with the world, and enhance the global influence and voice of Chinese ceramic culture and art.
Resource: 2026 CJICB