The Japanese collection at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology (PAHMA), UC Berkeley, is vast, but the systematic classification and comprehensive understanding of its contents have just begun. During 2025/2026, CJS and IEAS received a Japan World Exposition 1970 Commemorative Fund Grant from the KANSAI OSAKA 21st Century Association 1) to develop international collaboration for the examination of Japanese objects housed in the museum, and 2) to use the results for education and outreach.
A close examination of PAHMA’s Japanese collection revealed the presence of high-quality Hizen (Imari) ware dating from the 17th to the 20th century, including Nabeshima ware from the 18th century. Although Hizen kilns are well known for their export wares, all the Edo-period porcelain objects that we examined were made for the domestic Japanese market. This characteristic is commonly found in Edo porcelain collections in North America and Europe that were assembled in Japan and elsewhere during and after the Meiji period. Thus, the porcelain collection at PAHMA reflects aspects of changes in Edo-period lifeways and foodways. The lacquerware collection includes bowls, trays, and writing boxes of high artistic quality, spanning from the 16th to the 20th century. Netsuke and inro at PAHMA include sophisticated Edo-period pieces bearing carvers’ signatures, as well as mass-produced netsuke for export from the mid-19th century onward. The basket collection primarily dates to the mid-to-late 20th century and reflects aspects of everyday life, from raw-material gathering to subsistence practices.
In collaboration with PAHMA and several other campus units, we hosted an international workshop series in Fall 2025, and in Spring 2026 two international conferences (see January, March) Presenters in these events examined key issues related to the identification and classification of these objects, evaluated the academic significance of the collection from interdisciplinary perspectives, and discussed the historical context in which the Japanese objects at PAHMA were brought from Japan to North America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The contents presented at the workshops and at the international conferences are currently being prepared for publication.
Based on our new findings and discussions, we are in the process of making recommendations for catalog record updates and revisions to the Head of Research and Information to update our database. The results of this project will be incorporated into undergraduate and graduate classes on campus and outreach activities, and we will continue our collaborations with specialists. The Hearst Museum Gallery, with its Japanese collection exhibit, is open on Fridays from 12 to 4PM.
Porcelain and Lacquerware at the PAHMA Gallery Exhibition (Photo by Junko Habu)
Photo Copyright: UC Regents and PAHMA
Baskets at the PAHMA Gallery Exhibition (Photo by Kazuyo Nishihara)
Photo Copyright: UC Regents and PAHMA