izumiyama porcelain Archives

My decade long search for a Japanese Sometsuke (blue-and-white porcelain) artist came to a successful conclusion when I discovered Iwanaga Hiroshi’s work at a gallery in Tokyo in 2023. I was enamored by Iwanaga-san’s Sometsuke with the brilliant blue brushwork and fresh porcelain bodies of widely variable shapes. They reminded me of the vibrant Koimari -old Imari, named after the nearby Imari port- ceramics that were produced in the pottery town of Arita, Saga, in Northwestern Kyushu during the Edo period (1603-1868).

Blue-and-white Sometsuke pottery by Japanese potter Iwanaga Hiroshi, Arita, Saga

Porcelain making began in Arita in the first decade of the 17th century, after the first kaolin deposit was discovered in Izumiyama by skilled Korean potters who were brought to Japan through two invasions in the 1590s. Inspired by the popular blue-and-white ware imported from China since the Middle Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and invigorated by the kaolin discovery, the Arita potters began creating ceramics known as Imari with designs and motifs catering to Japanese tastes. These designs often followed the examples of Chinese motifs but with direct and playful expressions of fauna and flora that I think is uniquely Japanese -a quality also present in Iwanaga-san’s work.

Izumiyama quarry in Arita, Saga was discovered in 1616. Within 30 years following the discovery of exceptionally pure porcelain stone here, Japan shifted from a country that imported porcelain to an exporter.

Last spring, I visited Iwanaga-san’s studio in Arita, which today has a population of approximately 19,000 people. When I arrived at the studio, Iwanaga-san, a broad-shouldered man with long red hair donning a Van Halen T-shirt (he loves rock music), cheerfully greeted me into his garage. We squeezed past his car, a well-maintained vintage Nissan 370Z, through to the studio where hundreds of pieces of greenware were drying on boards with side shelves stacked with numerous molds.

Pottery studio of Iwanaga Hiroshi in Arita, Saga

*Sometsuke* potter Iwanaga Hiroshi demonstrating how to hold a “dami” brush for filling motif outline with cobalt

Wheel-thrown, drape-molded, wheel-trimmed, bisque ware waiting to be painted at Iwanaga Hiroshi’s studio

For four decades, Iwanaga-san has been throwing and molding the porcelain, drawing and painting the designs, preparing and applying the natural pine ash glaze and firing the pots all with his own hands. I was surprised at the level of output that was evident from the sheer volume of unfinished pieces stored in his studio.

Traditionally, painted porcelain dishes in Arita have been made through a division of labor. “My father was a “soji” maker who shaped clay and prepared greenware for painters,” Iwanaga-san said. “Many of the mold making tools belonged to my father.” These days Arita’s local ceramics industry is dominated by wholesalers who make it difficult to sustain a good wage for the workers at the foothills of porcelain production, like mold and greenware makers. It is also little known outside but, in Arita, most porcelain bases are slip-cast using machines. “I don’t have anything against slip-casting,” Iwanaga-san said. “But I think inconsistencies in hand-thrown pots and varying tones of cobalt are desired ‘flavors’ of sometsuke work.”

“From the beginning, I wanted to become a studio potter, so I studied both throwing and drawing,” Iwanaga-san said. He studied sumi ink drawing under Kanetake Jinen, a traditional ink drawing craftsman. “Sensei purchased the famous “Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden” for his students, and I copied the drawings from the book for many years,” Iwanaga-san fondly recalled. He also studies Koimari designs and gets inspirations from motifs on chards found at old local kilns dotted around his neighborhood.

After the wheel room, Iwanaga-san took me to the painting room where he stores various outlines of his designs on paper. These outlines are transferred onto bisqueware using gourd ink that burns away in the kiln. “Several years ago, the local producer of gourd ink went out of business and I almost went out of business,” Iwanaga-san said jokingly as he showed us pieces of burned gourd. “So, I started making them myself.” These types of challenges seem to invigorate Iwanaga-san.

Gourd ink on xuan paper is used to transfer the base of a motif onto bisqueware.

Porcelain bisque at various stages of base decoration called “honegaki (bone drawing)” at Iwanaga Hiroshi’s studio

Iwanaga Hiroshi demonstrating line and wash technique with a dami brush. He used a damaged piece -a crack was found and marked on the rim-

Goldfish design before glazing. The light blue wash that burns away in the firing is applied first on the rim and center to test for cracks. It is important to discover cracks before drawing which can save a lot of time because some designs take hours to draw. <Photo Courtesy of Iwanaga Hiroshi>

Iwanaga-san established his own Sometsuke studio in 1985 and for several years he knuckled down to pay off his family’s debt. 10 years later in 1995 he held his first successful solo exhibition in Tokyo. Since then, public recognition of his extraordinary work has grown steadily and he has regularly exhibited at well-known galleries throughout Japan. In 2008 he was selected by Yoshioka Sachio, a renowned dye artist, to create 25 Sometsuke chargers for the “Work by Hand: A Japanese Tradition” for an exhibit at the Terminal 2 arrivals concourse at Narita Airport. And recently Iwanaga-san took on non-ceramic work that involved the painting of the designs of yukata (cotton summer kimono) fabric for professional sumo wrestler Takayasu Akira.

Fuyode, or Kraak style, Sobachoko by Iwanaga Hiroshi. The designs of Iwanaga-san’s work is a visual reminder of Arita’s historical success through trade with the Dutch East India Company (1602-1799)

Yukata fabric designed by Sometsuke potter Iwanaga Hiroshi for sumo wrestler Takayasu Akira

Iwanaga-san is 65 years old this year and has decided to retire from doing annual solo exhibitions in Tokyo. His elbows and neck have developed chronic pain, so he needs to work less after decades of spending too many hours on the wheel and holding a brush. As we left the studio, Iwanaga-san explained his plans to clean up his studio so that his daughter’s family could move into his house. He said he will continue to work at a slower pace and divide his time between Arita and Tokyo, where his girlfriend lives and runs a small gallery while taking care of her elderly mother.

Luckily, a slower pace for Iwanaga-san will allow a small gallery like mine to be able to continue to bring his work to the U.S. “I want to keep making good work that will be cherished by people even after I’m gone,” Iwanaga-san says.

Since the appeal of blue-and-white pottery never seems to cease, history is on his side. I hope that you find Iwanaga-san’s work as uplifting as I do just like Arita’s Imari ware traveled the world and inspired people in faraway regions a few centuries ago ✦

All photos at Iwanaga Hiroshi’s studio by Tomoko Matsubayashi

Pottery wheel and drape mold on the seat

Tonbo -tools used to measure the width and depth while throwing on the wheel

Tatakibo -paddles used to shape the thrown clay on drape molds.

Yumi tools used to cut the rim of vessels on the drape mold

Karatsu pots by Mike Martino in our shop ->

Karatsu potter Mike Martino has always been good with his hands. He believes that this natural talent combined with his exposure at a young age to early native American ceramics helped to set him onto a path of becoming a potter.

Mike grew up in New Mexico, where he frequently visited a native North American pueblo settlement adjacent to his town dating back to the 17^th Century. “I remember going out with my parents hiking and coming home with pot shards, and walking home from school, stopping under a bridge to play with friends, and finding arrow heads,” he reminisces.

American potter Mike Martino working at his Gotanbayashi wood-firing kiln that he built in 2010
Photo courtesy of Mike Martino

Mike has been living in Japan for almost 25 years now after meeting his Japanese wife when they both studied at Kyushu University. He has been making functional pottery in the city of Taku, Saga Prefecture, for the past 15 years.

Mike creates work following the Karatsu pottery tradition produced in and around Karatsu that has a history of over 400 years. Historically, Karatsu Port was one of the most important ancient ports for trading with China and Korea. And Karatsu pottery has been directly influenced by Korea because many Korean potters settled in Karatsu after being taken captive following two attempted invasions of Korea by General Toyotomi Hideyoshi between 1592 and 1598.

Mini e-karatsu rice bowl by Mike Martino.
So versatile yet humble, they are perfect for rice, tea, and even small salads as a side dish.

Karatsu pots are earthy, high-fire glazed stoneware boasting numerous styles such as picture Karatsu (e-karatsu), Korean style Karatsu (chosen karatsu), black Karatsu (kuro garatsu) mottled Karatsu (madara karatsu), and stamped inlay Karatsu (mishima karatsu), to name just a few. There are many more variants, and Mike avidly studies their history through old Karatsu pots and shards.

The most basic goal for Mike is to create something beautiful and useful. At first glance, his pots seem like traditional Karatsu ware, but upon closer inspection they carry distinct and sometimes playful flair that uniquely incorporates his American roots. I love that he experiments with traditional forms with a twist, like creating small rice bowls that are half way between a sake cup and a tea bowl. And his large and small pedestal cups (bajohai) with iron drawings are so unique and fun to use on the dining table.

Mike Martino’s stemmed cups. His work is highly functional and fun to use.

As an American, Mike is also not afraid to defy convention. He uses cheaper Douglas fir to fire his kiln while most Japanese potters only use red pine, which is very expensive. This is despite plenty of warnings from fellow potters that Douglas fir would ruin his work. Mike later found out the reason for these dire warnings. When Douglas fir were first shipped from North America to Japan decades ago, the trees spent a lot of time floating in the ocean and were sometimes even dragged behind ships on their oceanic passage. It was the salt contamination that gave the Douglas fir a bad reputation.

Mike Martino firing his wood-fired kiln with Douglas fir. He is helped by his mentor Tsuruta Yoshihisa
Photo courtesy of Mike Martino

When Mike creates his work, he pays most attention to using the material in a way that brings out the beauty of their unique characteristics. His view is that there is no such thing as ‘bad clay,’ just the limitations of the artist’s imagination and ability in its use. If you follow Mike’s blog, you will notice that in 90% of the posts, he talks about the clay, such as their body, texture, color, and behavior. He is a clay geek who is deeply and passionately devoted to its study and application.

The foot of a Karatsu tea bowl by Mike Martino. Mike creates the most beautiful wrinkles on the foot of his work as he trims. This is one of the most revered characteristic of Karatsu clay called chirimen jiwa. Mike calls this the ‘cookie dough’ effect.

Chirimen jiwa on the foot of an Izumiyama porcelain sake cup by Mike Martino. Porcelain cups are not usually known for this type of trim on the foot, but Mike loves this effect and when he discovered that Izumiyama porcelain can be trimmed like this, he was enticed to work with porcelain.

Mike’s curiosity of the history of Karatsu ceramics is also due in part to the influence of his mentor and teacher Tsuruta Yoshihisa, a well-known maker of ceramics for tea ceremonies and a leading expert of Japanese ceramics. The town of Taku where Mike resides is where Yi Sam-Pyeong (Ri Sampei in Japanese), the presumed father of Arita porcelain who came from Korea in the late 16^th century, is believed to have first settled to establish a kiln. Yi later moved to Arita in 1616 after the discovery of Izumiyama porcelain. “Nowadays people think Arita and Karatsu are completely separate traditions because they are such different styles of pottery, but they are all related,” according to Mike.

Sharing tea with Mike at his studio in Taku using his pots. Mike loves the ability of Karatsu ware to change and become more beautiful with use.

Not so long ago, the Japanese word “Karatsu” was used synonymously with “pottery” because so much stoneware was made and shipped from Karatsu Port. But the Japanese ceramics market has been in a slump for many years, and only recently has there been a surge of renewed interest in handcrafted tableware.

Mike says he has noticed many more young customers in the last 3 to 4 years who are interested in and recognize the value of quality handmade work. He says he hopes to continue to play a part in spreading the “Karatsu” name as a pottery destination not only for the Japanese public but also for foreigners through his work. When I asked him about this goal, he smiled and replied that “all the potters in the U.S. know Mashiko but not Karatsu, and I want to put Karatsu on the map.”

Tag: izumiyama porcelain

Blue-and-White Sometsuke Porcelain by IWANAGA Hiroshi in Arita, Saga

“No Bad Clay”: Karatsu Pottery by Mike Martino