If you stop and think about the Mino potter, Toyoba
Seiya (b. 1942), a wide variety of styles come to mind; from earthy kohiki
wares, Oribe, Shino of various styles, Ki-Seto and even Seto-guro. What may
come as a surprise is the yakishime style that he makes which includes both
Bizen and Shigaraki pottery. Having maintained a long apprenticeship under
Arakawa Toyozo which lasted 14 years, it was not until 1974 that he went on to
build his own studio and kiln at the foot of his master's studio. It was only
natural that he would take the styles he studied to hand and ply his craft
around the variety of Mino tradition potteries at which his master was so
adept. Like a fellow apprentice, Tsukigata Nahiko, Toyoba was exposed to the
fullest variety of work that Arakawa created and this also became ingrained in
his psyche. Once he set up his own studio, it was time to explore the vast
array of clay in his own voice and for some, it is the unexpected that best
suits one's true temperament.
Toyoba Seiya continues to create works in a wide
variety of styles and from time to time also fires Bizen and Shigaraki pots in
his wood kiln, presumably nearest to the fire-mouth to encourage natural ash
(shizen-yu) build up on the pieces. Illustrated is a rather lovely Shigaraki
chawan by Toyoba that has been streamlined in form, the vagaries and superfluous
details shed to let the form, clay and fired surface communicate without any boundaries
or impediments. Surveying the well ash coated form, over the lip and into the
bowl, there is an luscious pool of green glass that collected leaving tell-tale
clues as to how the pot was fired. This clearly is one of those chawan that would
have been equally at home in the early Edo Period or a modern tea room of the
21st century.
"There is nothing special about making ceramics.
That is why it's so difficult." Toyoba Seiya
.JPG)