ECCENTRIC SHINO

I have always been a huge fan of Shino. The beauty of Momoyama Shino, contemporary Western Shino and especially modern Japanese Shino are all of interest to me. If you look over the past 60 plus years, the Japanese have resurrected and added to the Momoyama tradition with a wide variety of styles and glaze types. The three major pioneers of this resurgence of Shino were Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959), Kato Tokuro (1898-1985) and Arakawa Toyozo(1895-1985). It was the trail blazing inroads of these three that ushered in the interest of Momoyama Mino. They were followed by a number of great potters who used and built on their foundations. Potters like Suzuki Osamu, Kato Kozo, Hayashi Shotaro, Wakao Toshisdada,Yoshida Yoshihiko, Ando Hidetake, Toyoba Seiya and a number of others are adding to the Modern Momoyama aesthetic.

Within the modern Shino fold, there are two potters who stand out as innovators and eccentrics. I am talking about Tsukigata Nahiko (1923-2006) and Kumano Kuroemon, the bear of Echizen. Kumano’s pots are bold, hard fired and mostly oburi in nature and he uses what he calls Kumano-Shino and Matsuzaka-Shino (after a type of feldspar he uses) on his pots and they are then fired intensely in his anagama at nearly 1500 degrees Celsius. Kumano’s works are immediately recognizable for their scale and extreme surfaces.

Tsukigata Nahiko would seem to be the opposite of Kumano, reserved, introspective and on a spiritual journey to enlightenment of mind and work. He was an accomplished shakuhachi player, calligrapher, oil painter and sculptor of which many of his bronzes were cast in editions. Tsukigata studied and worked with Arakawa Toyozo and inherited a certain amount of his style, technology and firing methods. But there the similarities end.

After working with Arakawa, Tsukigata began to experiment with styles and firing methodology. He worked in Ko-Shino, Shino, Nezumi-Shino, Aka-Shino,Ki-Seto, Kohiki, Hagi and even Shigaraki. Then he coined the now famous term, Oni-Shino and also Oni-Iga to describe his new work. His Oni-Shino works are raw power and present a landscape, unseen in Japanese pottery before his “creation”. They are essentially Shino and iron glazes fired in an anagama to cover and activate the glazes with the deposit and build up of natural ash glaze circulating in the kiln. Tsukigata fires his kiln to a very high temperature and through the use of different types of wood, he is able to build up ash on his pots that fuses, like glass over the course of the firing. The results are wondrous.

The approach to wood firing Shino is a pathway of dedication. Since the 1950’s many potters have chosen to gas fire as a means of control, repeatability and expediency. The choice of the anagama and all of its variables makes each pot unique because of the process. For Oni-Shino, there can be no short-cuts.

Through wood firing his pots, Tsukigata made sure the each pot would have a differing story, a narrative, ensnaring the viewer with a tale of the intensity of the potter, process and the fire. His chawan, mizusashi, chaire, tsubo, hanaire, wall plaques, tokkuri, guinomi and yunomi, though all related through the potter, clay and process, stand alone as a statement in which the past and present collide through the violence and velocity of flame.

As you study Tsukigata’s pots, you can see the strength of potting, the quality of the clay, his attention to detail, the Shino and iron glazes over run by ash deposited during the firing. But as you look closer, you can see the furrows cut through the Shino glaze, like tamadare runs, by the ash built up like molten lava and running down the surfaces of the pottery. Within the running ash and areas of built up ash, there is a myriad of pattern; matsukawa-ji (pine bark ground) and chirimen-ji (crepe silk ground) spring to mind. There is much to see in his work with a dialogue that stirs the imagination.

I have been very fortunate to see, handle and study a number of works by Tsukigata Nahiko. In time, I began to realize that the Zen aphorism, Zoki-Nichigetsu (Together sun and moon all the brighter) is very indicative of Tsukigata. The meaning of this aphorism is that with each and every new enlightenment (his) heart shines all the brighter. With each new pot, each new firing, he came closer to the creation of his ultimate Oni-Shino.

There is a great book on the Oni-Shino works of Tsukigata Nahiko, simply entitled; ONI-SHINO. The array of work is breath taking and these serendipitous creations are truly the soul of the fire and artistry of Shino intertwined. “The reddish pottery created from the flame that could make an Ogre cry… from here Oni-Shino is born.”* Today, there is a large number of pots being made and described as Oni-Shino, but when I think of that term, only one name springs to mind and that is Tsukigata Nahiko……………….

Illustrated is a large Oni-Shino Chawan (used with the permission of a private collector) and a close-up of a Oni-Shino hana-ire, both by Tsukigata Nahiko.

(* an excerpt from ONI-SHINO by Tsukigata Nahiko)

A SEED PLANTED....................

I usually plan out my next kiln load and work cycle rather well. Not that I am inflexible, just want to make maximum use of clay, glaze and kiln space. Invariably an order or a mere suggestion ends up sending me off the deep end. This time, Mindy casually remarks, “haven’t seen you make any lidded oval pieces in a while”, you can guess how that went.

So, the seed was planted. I tried pushing the comment to the back of my mind, but just ending up dreaming about throwing the parts, rolling the slabs and building the darn things. So, you probably know where this is going.

After putting handles on some pitchers and tooling some jars and lids, I set about throwing a group of cylinders and rolling out slabs. Today was spent building and fussing with a group of oval serving pieces. What took 75 minutes to throw and roll out, took 6 hours to construct and fine tune. I probably spend way more time on these then I need, or it shows, as I am extremely particular about how all of my lids fit. For these oval pieces, I make the lids .25” too big and whittle away at them until they fit just right and snug in their gallery. It is worth it, as a sloppy lid, ends up being a broken pot……………..

JUYO MUKEI BUNKAZAI

A List of the current and past Ningen Kokuho of Japan for Pottery (Yakimono).

Each potter has his working dates, year they were made LNT and specialty;

Tomimoto Kenkichi (1886-1963) 1955 Iroe
Ishiguro Munemaro (1893-1968) 1955 Tetsuyu
Hamada Shoji (1895-1969) 1955 Mashiko
Arakawa Toyozo (1894-1985) 1955 Seto-guro
Kaneshige Toyo (1896-1976) 1956 Bizen
Kato Hajime (1900-1968) 1961 Iroe
Miwa Kyuwa (1896-1981) 1970 Hagi
Fujiwara Kei (1899-1983) 1970 Bizen
Nakazato Muan (1895-1985) 1976 Karatsu
Tsukamoto Kaiji (1912-1990) 1983 Seihakuji
Miwa Jusetsu (Kyusetsu) (1910- ) 1983 Hagi
Kinjo Jiro (1912-2004) 1985 Okinawan Pottery
Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) 1985 Tetsuyu
Kondo Yuzo (1902-1985) 1985 Sometsuke
Tamura Koichi (1918-1987) 1986 Tetsu-e
Fujimoto Yoshimichi (1919-1992) 1986 Iroe
Yamamoto Toshu (1906-1994) 1987 Bizen
Imaezumi Imaemon XIII (1926-2001) 1989 Iroe
Matsui Kosei (1927-2003) 1993 Neriage
Kato Takuo ( 1917-2005) 1995 Sansai/Sancai
Shimaoka Tatsuzo (1919-2007) 1996 Jomon style
Fujiwara Yu (1932-2001) 1996 Bizen
Suzuki Osamu (1934- ) 1994 Shino
Inoue Manji (1929- ) 1995 Hakuji
Miura Koheiji (1933-2006) 1997 Seiji
Tokuda Yasokichi III (1933-2009) 1997 Saiyu
Yamada Jozan III (1924-2005) 1998 Tokoname
Sakakida Kakiemon XIV (1934- ) 2001 Iroe
Yoshida Minoru (1932- ) 2001 Yurikinsai
Ito Sekisui V (1941- ) 2003 Mumyoi
Isezaki Jun (1936- ) 2004 Bizen
Hara Kiyoshi (1936- ) 2005 Tetsuyu
Nakajima Hiroshi (1941- ) 2007 Seihakuji
Kato Kozo (1937- ) 2010 Seto-guro

Banura Shiro Deuxieme Partie

The “fall bowl” post got me thinking more about Banura Shiro and I remembered a picture of a set I had handled and photographed. The set is a Hagi gohonde style serving bowl and set of mokozuke, all decorated en suite in varying tones of iron on slip and under an ash glaze. The surface is rich with spotting caused by the slip under the glaze and activates the form even more. The potting on these bowls is wonderful and one can easily image using them. Having seen and handled a number of his works, I am always amazed at how deceptively simple and honest his pots are.

Banura Shiro was from Iga prefecture and studied with Kawamura Kitaro before setting up his own studio. He had his first major exhibit at Nihonbashi Takashimiya in 1972. Exceptionally proficient at glazes and firing he worked with a wide variety of clays, glazes, underglazes and overglaze techniques and was very fond of “old style” under and over glaze brushwork and designs.

Perhaps his best known and most famous works are the collaborative pots and platters he made and his brother-in-law, Matazo Kayama decorated using techniques and technology developed by Banura. Kayama made majestic and sweeping designs heavily influenced by the Nihon-ga tradition he came from. A masterpiece can be seen in the Madame Kikuchi collection catalogue; JAPANESE CERAMICS TODAY. It is a large platter, over 51cm and depicts a mikazaki crescent moon over breaking waves.

Besides adding to the Rimpa tradition, Banura had several noteworthy apprentices, including Yasuda Michio (b. 1949) who carries on the pottery Rimpa style and Yoshitaka Hasu (b. 1949) who specializes in unique Iga anagama fired pottery with iron glaze additions.

(Used with the permission of a private collector)

VELLUM UPDATE

Just a quick update to show the amber version of my vellum glaze I am working on. Up for your approval, a porcelain teabowl with my tigerstripe pattern under the amber vellum (AM10-10). The surface has that “old” look to it which is just fine by me, given how much I look the old studio pots of the Arts & Crafts Movement and really old raqqa ware.

I was able to make several different varieties of this glaze and am just not sure how to proceed with them. The crystalline white vellum shows promise, but I need to work on the ideas more as a large white vellum pot needs the right decoration and form.

Many thanks go to Colin Pearson, without whose original formulas, my vellum would still be in the testing for eternity stage.

A FALL BOWL

Wonderful rustic chawan with Rimpa style decoration in black and gold by Iga based potter Banura Shiro (1941-2001). Banura was a potter of tremendous skill and artistic sensibility and his chawan and mizusashi have a simple Edo style to them. He treated many of his pots, especially his hachi platters as paintings, adorning them with various foliage, fish and other fauna. He made some collaborative works with his brother-in-law, the famous Nihonga painter, Matazo Kayama (1927-2004).


Subtle mizusashi surrounded by falling maple leaves over a stone like surface and finished off with a rich black lacquered lid.

Banura is one of the outstanding Rimpa style potters of modern Japan and his works show the influence of Ogata Kenzan among others. Having handled a number of his pieces, his chawan feel wonderful in the hand and this chawan just make me think of “fall”.

LINGO

Here are a few Japanese terms used to describe wood fired potteries or Bizen, Shigaraki, Iga, Echizen, Tamba and Tokoname among others.

Tamadare- (ball runs) running lines from the ash flow, some ending in a ball or droplet of vitrified ash

Yohen- kiln change(d), surfaces changed by the atmosphere or the kiln, fire changed

Bidoro- from the old term vitoro, glassy, running deposits and droplets of vitrified ash sometimes ending in green “tear drops” called tombo-me, dragonfly eyes

Yu-Damari- pools of natural ash glaze, especially seen in the mikomi

Goma(bai)- small, spotted areas deposited during the firing, speckled ash

Sangiri- areas of localized reduction created where the pot sat in a charcoal bed

Hi-iro- fire color/ flame color

Koge – “burnt”, areas where ash and charcoal build up and appear burnt in brown, black or grey tones mostly

Hishoku- bright red hi-iro, mostly seen on Bizen-yaki

Bota-mochi- bean rice cakes, areas that are mostly bare clay from clay wads to act as resists

Shizenyu- natural ash glaze deposited during the firing, to occur naturally

Ishihaze- stone bursts, a common trait in Shigaraki-yaki where the clay cracks around feldspatic stones within the clay

EMA HIROSHI

Illustrated is a tokkuri by Ema Hiroshi (b.1953). Ema studied in Bizen and now works in Honju. Using indigenous clays from the area and making Someya-yaki, Ema is committed to make simple and traditional wares almost as a counterpoint to our modern age. This piece and all of his work is fired in a large or medium sized wood fired anagama. More of his works can be seen at the Vessels.jp website;
http://www.trocadero.com/Dabido/catalog.html

What drew me to this piece is the ancient Sueki tokkuri form and the banding of varying hi-iro colors that circle the base and foot of the piece. This modern rendition of an ancient form is timeless, inviting and comforting and shows the essentials of form without any superfluous additions. One of the real pleasures of this piece is the warmth it exudes while being used and the sound of the sake as it pours out of the mouth. It reminds me of a babbling brook breaking over small rocks. It is quite wonderful how such a simple hand made object can bring a certain amount of solace to a hectic environment.

GUINOMI

Though I like guinomi, I have never really gone out of my way to collect them. I realize there are a lot of people who collect shuki (sake articles) or guinomi exclusively looking at drinking sake in a nearly ritualistic manner just like chanoyu. My wife and I have instead, tended to collect chadogu, preferring the larger objects that hold greater volume and visual presence.

That being said, recently I was looking around on the shelves and nooks and crannies of storage areas and had to conclude, we do collect guinomi, there are dozens of them. Over the years, popping into antique stores, flea markets, treks to Japan and now with the electronic age firmly planted, internet auction sites, we have put together a serendipitous collection of guinomi.

Some are occasionally used, others out and about as gem like accents, but all possess the qualities of chawan that we are so fond of. Despite their size, a potter has to work just as hard to create a good form, interior, foot and surface as he would on a larger teabowl and counter intuitively, mistakes on a guinomi seem far more exaggerated than on their larger kin.

We have been able to find pieces from a wide array of styles and artists, from Bizen to Shigaraki, Hagi, Karatsu, Mashiko and many more. In truth they certainly store easily enough and their use, can be down right intoxicating

TGIF?

Working in a studio that is in a home is a blessing and a curse. The temptation to “goof off” is sometimes pretty hard to resist, especially when AMC is playing MOBY DICK or Bogart in SAHARA. Thank goodness for DVR and DVDs. The blessing part of a studio that is always open is that you can monitor the kiln, bisques and drying during all waking hours and if an idea hits, you can run down and throw a form or make up a glaze test all during a commercial break.

The truth of working at home and on a house as well, is Fridays just don’t have that special meaning they did when I was a kid or when I actually have had traditional jobs in the past. Friday now symbolizes a sort of phase two for the week in which my wife Mindy is home, though never far from thinking or working on work stuff and we have a series of prescribed tasks and errands to run before the alarm goes off on Monday morning. “It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is what are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau

As the normal work week ends and the weekend begins take a moment to enjoy the boundary between work-work and life-work. Some good spirits may assist in this task, kampai!

(Illustrated are a tetsu-yu tokkuri by Yamada Hikaru and an enyu-guinomi by Iwabuchi Shigeya)

INTENTIONS

I have completed preliminary “pod” testing on several glazes including variants of the vellum glaze and a soft Ko crackle glaze. I had every intention of being much further along with the testing by now and on to phase 2 which would entail glazing up small cups or yunomi in the test glazes and different ideas I have worked out for each.

So, I sat down today and threw a group of test cups off the hump. At least this way, I am somewhat committed to seeing this through. Step two will be to make up the three test glazes up in 500 gr. batches and wait on the cups to be bisqued.

I have been rather remiss to get further along with these glazes as several web orders, gallery orders, holiday sales and even house/studio issues have been taking up a lot of time. Spending time on testing is some what of a luxury and does have to take a back seat to selling pots. The reality of testing is it cost both time and money and though some results make their way to occasional use, most second and third stage tests just end up the way of the dodo……………….

EMPTY BOWL

“Clay is molded to make a vessel, but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing… Thus, taking advantage of what is, we recognize the utility of what is not.” Lao Tzu

ANOTHER FIRING

Unloaded the glaze yesterday and was mostly pleased with the results. There were a few stand outs, a nice katazome style covered jar and two pitchers as well as a really nice cylindrical vase, also in katazome style in my Ao glaze. I have been trying to blend the glazing in each firing to include the temmoku, haiyu, medieval green, TP clear and the Ao to make for a visual variety.

I am currently working on a few gallery orders as well as pots for several seasonal/holiday shows, so I will be working in terra cotta, stoneware and porcelain. The terra cotta pieces will concentrate on slipware and painted abstract resist and tebori carved slip. Though I like to work in terra cotta, throwing clay with less body than porcelain has its moments and demands its due.

Illustrated are two temmoku & haiyu stamped pitchers and an Ao katazome style cap jar with bloesem panels around the form.