Tag: Ben Horiuchi

A Tour of the Pottery Towns of Southern Japan: Part III: Hagi

Hagi Ceramics Travels

The small tranquil town of Hagi is situated at the western end of Honshu Island far from the bright lights and maddening crowds of Japan’s big cities. I was excited to set foot here in the company of the pottery group tour organized by Bill Geisinger and Ben Horiuchi because I had recently been drawn to the quiet beauty of Hagi-ware and was eager to find out more about the origins and nature of this celebrated tea ware.

Hagi
Old samurai residence in Hagi castle town in Yamaguchi prefecture. Hagi is home to revolutionaries like Takasugi Shinsaku, who contributed to overthrowing the shogunate and launching the Meiji Restoration.

Even though Hagi is off the beaten track and appears to be a sleepy backwater, do not be misled by outward appearances. This isolated town has had an outsized influence on the cultural, industrial, and political history of Japan through its famed Hagiyaki pottery and as the home of some of the leading revolutionaries and industrialists responsible for the Meiji Restoration from the second half of the 19th Century.

Hagi owes its colorful history to the confluence of historical circumstances and geography. When local lord Mori Terumoto found himself on the losing side in the famous battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he decided to channel some of his focus and wealth to the pursuit of perfecting the making of Korean style tea bowls that were all the rage among feudal lords during this period in between their political intrigues and internal wars for domination.

Terumoto brought two Korean potters to Hagi, which is less than 150 miles from the Korean Peninsula across the Sea of Japan. The two potters, brothers Lee Jak-Gwang (李勺光 이작광) and Lee Gyeong (李敬 이경), were the creative masters behind the genesis of Hagiyaki.

A typical Hagi-ware is either white or a warm loquat or ‘Biwa’ orange in color with no decoration. Its austere form might “seem bland and unfinished at first sight”, says Hatano Hideo, a Hagi potter from the Hatano Shigetsu-gama Kiln. But he further explains “this is because Hagi-ware is not complete until it is used”. What Hatano is pointing out is that not only is Hagi-ware created for the explicit purpose of being used, but that it also dramatically changes color through use.

Hagi Teabowl Hatano
Loquat or “biwa” teabowls at Hatano Shigetsu-gama kiln in Hagi.

Many Hagiyaki are still made by traditional wood firing in a Korean style multi-chambered climbing kiln. The local clay is rough, sandy, and resistant to heat, and does not harden unless fired to an extremely high temperature. The ingenious Hagi potters turned this serious disadvantage into a major advantage and distinctive characteristic of Hagiyaki.

Multi-chambered climbing kiln at Okada Seiunzangama
Multi-chambered climbing kiln at Seiunzan Okada-gama in Hagi.

In their experimentation many centuries ago, the pioneering Hagi potters found that when the pots were fired just enough to melt the glaze but not harden the clay completely, the expansion difference with the clay and glaze caused minute cracks or crackles on the glaze. As a result, when a Hagi tea bowl is used, the tea is absorbed through these cracks into the soft clay and slowly stains the pot. This gradual and exquisite change in color is commonly referred to as “the seven transformations of Hagi” or “Hagi no nanabake”.

Hagi Aging
On the left is a brand new Hagiyaki tea cup from Hadano Shigetsu-gama kiln. To the right is the same cup after several weeks of use. The staining through the cracks is already visible.

The war making but tea loving feudal lords were enamored with this rustic, aged look that these pots developed because they symbolized the beauty of degradation and passage of time cherished in wabi tea. So the powerful and mighty competed to get their hands on Hagiyaki.

The Hagi potters make their own clay by combining three local clays called Daido, Mitake and Mishima. The color transformation through staining is calculated by adding or removing just the right amount of sand, which requires an acute sense of judgment and a wealth of experience. “The clay means everything to our pottery”, said Okada Yu, an eighth generation potter of the Seiunzan Okada Kiln. Okada-san is one of Japan’s most sought after Hagi tea-ware makers.

Hagi-ware is mostly plain in appearance, but many potters show their originality in the foot of their tea bowls by boldly making cuts into them or leaving finger marks. While there are several theories as to the origins of the notched foot, tea aficionados pay considerable attention and relish this feature of Hagiyaki. The potters show much restraint in the shape and glazed surface of the bowl but the foot is where they can show their originality. It is fascinating that a seemingly marring act of cutting the foot is employed by the potter to show their creativity and is in turn appreciated by their fans.

Okada Yu Chawan Foot
Notched foot of a tea bowl by Okada Yu. The foot reveals the originality and the spirit of the maker.

Contemporary Hagi-ware is not limited to the enjoyment of tea drinkers. The work of Kaneta Masanao of Tenchozan-gama, for example, is very sculptural and brings out the Hagi clay’s chunky and warm texture. Instead of traditional wheel throwing, Kaneta-san shapes his work by slapping the clay with a paddle or a stick and scooping out the inside. The depth of clay is intensified through this unique process and his work is extremely popular internationally.

Water Jar by Kaneta Masanao of Tenchozangama in Hagi
Water Jar by Kaneta Masanao of Tenchozan-gama in Hagi.
Large sculptural vase by Kaneta Masanao waiting to be glazed and fired. The chunky texture and depth of hagi clay is visible.
Large sculptural vase by Kaneta Masanao waiting to be glazed and fired. The chunky texture and depth of hagi clay is visible.

How Hagiyaki came about and evolved shows the developmental arc in the history of Japanese tea ceremony and its fascination to the waring feudal lords.  It began as a cosmopolitan art form enjoyed by the ruling elites and has today become a much-loved icon of a unique wabi aesthetic, namely simplicity, rustic elegance, and witnessing beauty in the gentle deterioration and passage of time through use.

 

 

 

A Tour of the Pottery Towns of Southern Japan: Part II: Onta

Ceramics Onta Mingei Travels Ontayaki

Ontayaki in Entoten shop ->

Tucked deep in the densely wooded mountains of Kyushu and 300 years away from the hectic pace of the modern world is the rustic village of Onta. Life here has changed little since Yanase San’emon arrived from Koishiwara, another renowned pottery center 16 miles west of Onta, at the beginning of the 18th Century, to establish a distinctive way of making pottery known as Ontayaki that continues to be practiced by his descendants.

Onta vase with an example of pat brush marking or uchi-hakeme holding a cherry blossom.
An Onta vase displaying brush patted slip marking or uchi-hakeme, and holding a cherry blossom.

The ten families that live today in Onta can trace their lineage to the three original founders of the Onta kiln in 1705. Besides Yanase, the other two clans are the Sakamoto and Kuroki. Each family passed their pottery knowledge and skills from fathers to sons while the mothers and daughters performed no less important supporting roles. This patrilineal practice has helped to preserve Onta’s original pottery-making techniques in its purest form despite three centuries of generational succession.

Ontayaki was unknown to the rest of Japan until Studio KotoKoto’s philosopher hero and father of the Mingei movement Yanagi Muneyoshi (Soetsu) visited Onta in 1931. He had to walk to the village on foot, as there were no proper roads connecting it with the outside world in his days. Yanagi was keen to go to Onta after first falling in love with the warm simple beauty of Ontayaki at a pottery shop in Fukuoka.

Toothpick holders with chatter marks or tobi-kanna.
Toothpick holders with chatter marks or tobi-kanna sold at a shop in Onta.

Onta’s traditional way of life and simple approach to making pottery perfectly fitted Yanagi’s vision of Mingei. This was detailed in his book Hita no Sarayama about Onta that put the village on the map in Japan. The famous British potter Bernard Leach also resided in Onta during the 1950s and 1960s, and this broadened the village’s profile onto the global stage.

The people of Onta have taken this fame in their gentle stride. When I arrived in the village on a cold spring morning, I was welcomed by the noise of creaking wood that was followed by a heavy thud. This is the sound of kara-usu, the wooden clay-crushing device that operates like a seesaw and is powered by water from the Hanatsuki River that runs through the middle of the village.

Karausu determined the pace of clay production in Onta for the last 300 years.
These Kara-usu machines have regulated  the pace of clay production in Onta for the last three centuries.

The rhythmic beat of the kara-usu is the reason why Onta has kept to its simple ways and avoided being swept up in the mass consumerism of the modern world. Each family in the village is only allowed two wheels in their workshops because of the slow and limited production of local clay from the kara-usu machines. This means that if a grandson is ready to take over a wheel, his grandfather has to retire to make way. This careful approach by the villagers to managing their land and strictly limiting the scale of output means that there will be plenty of clay left for future generations.

The Hanatsuki river powers the numerous karause in Onta village.
The Hanatsuki River powers the numerous kara-usu in Onta.

At one house, I witnessed a woman busy transferring wet elutriated clay from a trough to a clay-drying kiln. This confirmed what I had read elsewhere that the backbreaking daily work of clay preparation is the responsibility of the Onta women. So to the female readers of this blog, think twice about marrying that handsome potter from Onta because you will find yourself with a very physically demanding job for the rest of your lives. It is truly a revelation to see how much time, work, and space is needed to prepare the clay after seeing the kara-usu, the water pools that dissolve the clay, the clay troughs, and the clay drying kilns.

A woman loads the clay onto a wheel barrel.
A woman loads the clay onto a wheel barrel.
Clay is transferred to the top of the clay drying kiln.
Clay is transferred to the top of the clay drying kiln.

The wheel throwing method used in Onta and Koishiwara is strikingly different from the approach that I and many other potters are most familiar with. Instead of starting by centering enough clay to form the entire form, a ball of clay is patted and centered to build the bottom. Coiled clay is subsequently added on top to build the rest of the pot.

This method is called neritsuke and is a hybrid form of wheel throwing and coil building. This technique is said to be only possible because of the mastery of the potter to control the speed of the kick wheel. To watch how this is done, here is a link to a YouTube video of a young Onta potter, Sakamoto So, who is throwing plates and applying uchi-hakeme, which is a brush patted slip marking.

Ontayaki mortar from Sakamoto kiln with an example of dynamic finger marking or yubikaki.
Ontayaki mortar from the father and son kiln of Sakamoto Takumi and So with an example of finger marking or yubikaki.

Onta clay is very smooth with a beautiful brownish yellow color that fires to dark brown because of a high iron content. Together with the slip that fires to light cream white, Ontayaki is ideal tableware as it brings out the color of food on the table.

Onta-ware has several distinct decorative styles that includes the chatter marking or tobi-kanna, uchi-hakeme, and the dynamic finger marking or yubi-kaki. These styles can also be found in the sister kiln of Koishiwara.

Ontayaki on the left and Koishiwarayaki on the right. The two villages share many decorative styles.
Ontayaki on the left and Koishiwarayaki on the right. The two villages share many decorative styles.

My visit to Onta was a deeply profound and eye-opening experience. More than 80 years have passed since Yanagi first went to Onta and far fewer people in today’s mass consumer society are using handmade products than when Yanagi made his pilgrimage to the village. Despite the enormous social, cultural, and economic changes that have occurred during these intervening years, Onta has never succumbed to the enticements of mass consumerism. And because the village’s residents have stood so fervently behind their age-old principles of sustainability and balanced moderation, Onta has thrived.

Ai spies one of the earliest works by the next generation of Onta potter at the village.
Ai spies some early works by the next generation of Onta potters.

A key lesson that I take away from Onta is that as long as there is a community of people who understand and cherish the importance of handmade in their everyday life, this tradition will survive and live on in future generations. This is also the essence of what we at Studio Kotokoto are seeking to build, although through the application of modern day tools including the Internet rather than from a remote corner of Japan.

My pottery tour will continue in my future blog.

A Tour of the Pottery Towns of Southern Japan: Part I: Karatsu

Ceramics Karatsu Travels

Karatsuware in our shop ->

As the cherry blossom season beckoned in Japan this spring, I had a wonderful opportunity to travel to Southern Japan to be the interpreter for a tour of classic pottery towns organized by renowned American potters Bill Geisinger and Ben Horiuchi. It was a fascinating 10 day journey that covered a lot of ground and allowed the tour participants to meet and see the activities and lives of potters from all walks of life in Southern Japan. I will be sharing my observations of these towns and the accomplished potters that have made this part of Japan a vibrant and dynamic center of pottery creativity in this blog in the coming weeks.

Cherry Blossom
Cherry blossoms at Nakazato Tarouemon Studio in Karatsu, Saga, Japan

The first stop of the tour was Karatsu in Saga prefecture. Karatsu is one of the most famous pottery towns in Japan and its name literally means “port to Tang (China)”. This is fitting, as the town has been a major trading port to Korea, China, and the rest of Japan.

The development of Karatsu-ware began more than 400 years ago. A key reason for this was the arrival of craftsmen from Korea brought by Japanese warlords following two invasions of Korea in the 16th Century. These potters produced ware for tea ceremonies that were very popular among the Japanese elites during this period.

Chosen Karatsu
An example of “Korean style karatsu” or “chosen karatsu” vase welcomed us at the Nakazato Tarouemon studio.

The Korean craftsmen brought with them two technologies that revolutionized Japanese pottery making: the kick-wheel, and the multi-chambered climbing kiln. These technologies allowed for faster and larger scale pottery production in comparison to the hand-wheel and Anagama kiln that was used in Japan prior to this technological revolution.

Ochawangama
The multi-chambered climbing kiln of Nakazato Tarouemon pottery built in 1734. This kiln was in use until the early 1900s.
(Photo courtesy of Beorn Johnson)

Karatsu-ware or Karatsuyaki, is made of clay high in iron content that fires to a reddish-gray color and encompasses many styles. The styles that I am most familiar with are ‘picture karatsu’ or ‘e-karatsu’, which have simple drawings of plants and birds, and Korean style karatsu or ‘chosen karatsu’ that has a black glaze with runny white ash glaze over it.

Many Japanese, including myself, find that simplicity is more appealing than glitter and complexity, because one can only understand the beauty of simplicity through experience and the steady accumulation of knowledge. It is a very personal appeal that is nurtured and intensified over time and repeated use. It is similar to the sentiment you will have towards your favorite t-shirt or tea mug that is so comfortable because you have used it over the years.

Karatsu-ware today is sought-after by avid collectors and formal tea drinkers for their simple and rustic elegance. Although I am not very familiar with the formal way of Japanese tea ceremonies, even I know the Japanese saying, “Raku first, Hagi second, Karatsu third”, which denotes the rank order of the three preferred types of pottery used in Japanese tea ceremonies. But some of my Japanese friends who are knowledgeable about tea ceremonies say that they are most drawn to Karatsu-ware.

Paddle tools used to slap the coil built vessel walls. This method is called tataki giho.
Paddle tools used to slap the coil built vessel walls at the Nakazato Tarouemon studio. This clay forming method is called “tataki giho”, a traditional method that was lost but revived by the late living national treasure, Nakazato Tarouemon XII.

In Karatsu, I was especially excited to visit the Nakazato family kilns. The Nakazato name should be well known to anyone who regularly visits the Studio Kotokoto website because of Hanako Nakazato, who is one of our most talented artists. The Nakazato family has resided in Karatsu for the past four centuries and they include famous potters such as Nakazato Tarouemon, Nakazato Takashi and Nakazato Shigetoshi who are all relatives of Hanako. It was my private mission to get a glimpse of where Hanako came from to gain an appreciation of the traditions and lifestyle that have shaped her and her style of pottery.

Petal-edged or rinka plates at Nakazato Shigetoshi's Sangengama.
“Petal-edged” or “rinka” plates at Nakazato Shigetoshi’s Sangengama.

The sturdy, unpretentious beauty of Karatsu-ware profoundly moved me. I felt very familiar with their time-tested and functional forms because I have witnessed their essence in Hanako’s work.

Bob Okazaki's beautiful studio was built in the traditional Japanese style without nails
Bob Okasaki’s beautiful studio was built in the traditional Japanese style without nails

Another potter we visited in Karatsu was Bob Okasaki, who is a native of California but is now settled in Karatsu. Bob opened his own kiln called Tourigama after many years of apprenticeships under Fujiwara Yu, a famous potter in Bizen, followed by Nakazato Takashi, Hanako’s father, and Nakazato Tarouemon XII, who was a living national treasure.

I love what Bob does because he has so many beautiful works adorned with drawings of animals and plants. Bob and the Nakazato family are very close because he married Keiko, a daughter of Nakazato Tarouemon XII. Hanako, who was busy loading a kiln for a show in Tokyo, stopped by at Bob’s studio and I was happy that I got to meet her to say hello.

Bob Okazaki Urinbo
Baby boar plate by Bob Okazaki.

The tour group had a wonderful time in Karatsu, a town in a remote corner of Japan but with a very open and international feel to it. This undoubtedly stems from the town’s proximity to Korea and China, which makes it an important regional cultural gateway.

In my next tour blog, I will talk about our visit to Onta, a pottery village hidden in the deep mountains of Oita.