Woodwork by Nakaya Yoshitaka in our shop ->
Woodworker Nakaya Yoshitaka resides in the sprawling foothills of Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka prefecture. Much of the wood he uses is obtained locally, often from families that needed to fell trees on their properties for safety or other reasons.
These trees often have significant meaning for the homeowners because their ancestors may have planted them or they may have played on them when they were children. Nakaya-san feels that by making vessels out of this wood, he is ensuring that the legacy of these trees live on.
Nakaya-san’s wood vessels are shaped before the wood is completely dry and allowed to shrink and warp to provide their distinctive curves. The foot is created after the wood is thoroughly dried to make a leveled bottom. By creating vessels in this way, Nakaya-san thinks that he is letting the wood to speak, and decide the shape that it wants to be.
I am so touched by the tenderness. I also had a sense of relief as I read this. When I was quite little and my life had many changes, trees gave me my only certain place of refuge and sense of assurance and strength. But trees also are bound up, their energy wrapped in bark, and there is a sadness in that. Vessels that are allowed to form themselves, that participate in daily lives, that express such incredible beauty — this is so satisfying. To the eye and to the heart. Beautiful.
Nakaya San,
You are at one with the tree and the beauty that lies within. The tree shows you the way it wants to go and your understanding of this allows you to create the most simple and beautiful bowls that speak for themselves. This is a very rare understanding of the tree and its beauty that most people cannot relate to because this takes time and most people are too busy to stop and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Yours is artistry at the highest level.