Donation to the British Museum, London

03.02.2026 to 04.05.2026

Gregg Baker Asian Art is very proud to have donated a major work by Hayashi Yasuo, now on display in the exhibition "Samouraï" exploring the enduring legacy of the samurai. During the Second World War, the Allies linked the myth of the samurai’s willingness to die for his lord to the kamikaze suicide pilots, named after the “divine wind” that dispersed the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. The few pilots who survived were deeply affected for the rest of their lives. Some expressed their experiences through art—sobering meditations on the fragility of life and the randomness of survival. After returning to Kyoto, Hayashi Yasuo began creating ceramic works inspired by his memories of flying at night without lights. Hayashi Yasuo (born 1928) Like a Wave, ceramic sculpture, 1985, Japan British Museum Donated by Gregg Baker Asian Art, London / Brussels