Waves of roofs and clouds…celebrated in song, the view of numerous tiled roofs, spreading as far as the eye can see, creates a nostalgic image of the traditional Japanese city.  The history of tiled roofs in Japan can be traced back to 588 A.D. when four tile experts are said to have arrived in this country from Kudara （Korea） to produce tiles to be used for the roof of Asuka-dera Temple.  When the nation’s capital later moved to Heijō-kyō in 710, Asuka-dera Temple was dismantled and reconstructed in Nara City where it was renamed Gangō-ji Temple, and even today, part of the roofs of this temple’s Gokurakudō and Zenshitsu buildings incorporate tiles that were made fourteen hundred years ago.  Why should it be that these tiles that were created by kneading and firing clay could continue to have been used for such a long period？

Japan’s leading expert on roof tiles, YAMAMOTO Kiyokazu, who is involved in the restoration of the roofs of buildings that have been classified national treasures or important cultural properties, has spent many years studying ancient tiles and using trial and error to recreate the techniques used in their production.  As a result, he has discovered that every stage in the process, from the preparation of the clay, the tools used to make, shape and fire the tiles, to the final laying of the roof, employs outstanding skill and technique.

This exhibition, ‘IRAKA—A Millennium of Tile Roofing’, will not focus solely on the shapes, patterns and other decoration used in tiles, but also present the techniques involved in their production and utilization, looking at the subject from an architectural viewpoint to introduce the tilers’ knowledge and techniques.  We hope that it will lead to a greater appreciation of the attraction and profundity of these one-thousand-year tiles.