About the Albion Art Jewellery Institute (AAJI)

The Albion Art Jewellery Institute (AAJI) was created with the mission of promoting, in Japan and throughout the world, a culture of jewelry praiseworthy for its beauty, its inspiration, and its high level of spirituality. We aspire in addition to take Japan and Japanese culture to new heights.

The high level of Japanese culture and the sense of beauty among the people of Japan have drawn the attention of the entire world. We perceive this whenever we come into contact with the superior works of art preserved in Japan. The austere, unadorned beauty of the Ise Shrine, melding perfectly into its natural environs; the Buddhist art of the Asuka period (sixth century); the gentle and mystic smiles of sacred Buddhist art of the Hakuho period (seventh century); the serene and limitless lucidity of Tempyo period sutras (eighth century); the cosmic dynamism of esoteric Buddhist art; the frightening realism of the statue of Taira no Kiyomori at Rokuharamitsuji Temple; the boundless compassion in Unkei's carving of Asanga in Kofukuji Temple; the philosophical, still quietude of stone gardens in Zen temples; the essential beauty of Chojiro's raku ware tea bowls and the sophisticated beauty of Koetsu tea bowls; the supreme grace and perfect balance of Katsura Rikyu; the cosmopolitan genius found in the ukiyoe woodblock prints which stunned France's impressionist painters -- the examples are countless. And yet, sad to say, we Japanese, with our high culture and sense of beauty, have with only a few signal exceptions remained less than fully developed in the area of jewelry culture.

The essence of art is "beauty and inspiration," and in this regard jewelry art is not different from any other. We are blessed in Japan with an abundance of history, one uniquely filled with beauty. It is our wish that the beauty and inspiration of jewelery art will blossom and flourish in Japanese soil. For this reason we have brought from Europe and America historical jewelry that provides the maximum aesthetic impact. We create opportunities for as many Japanese people as possible to see these works of art. We are forging a ring of aesthetic appreciation that will expand to encompass Asia and all the world. And we seek to remedy the lack of knowledge about jewelry in Japan by sponsoring academic work conducted by a team of researchers centering on England's world-renowned jewelry historian Diana Scarisbrick.

"Lift your eyes and the level you seek will rise; improve the artisan's hand and the quality of jewelry will rise." So it is said, and so it is. The powerful aesthetic appeal that jewelry possesses resonates in people's hearts, and elevates them. The next generation of children will inherit this sensibility. This is certainly an issue of culture writ large, one that has implications for Japan, for the world, and indeed for the future possibilities of the globe itself.

Kazumi Arikawa
Chairman
Albion Art Jewellery Institute (AAJI)