Soetsu Yanagi celebrated the work of anonymous artists above the Western idea of the triumph of the individual.

The Unknown Craftsman emphasizes the importance of an egoless approach to creation, where objects arise literally unto themselves — the maker is only the vessel through which these things are born.

Yanagi believed this marriage between the maker and the form could only arise after years of diligent — though effortless — practice. It takes a long time before the hands and the eye relinquish their control over materials to allow the invisible spirit to fashion the shapes or patterns it wishes to express.