ROADSIDE HENKO

Illustrated is a slab and coil built Shigaraki henko by veteran potter, Furutani Churoku IV (b.1922). The vivid green glass and wadding scars together with the texture created when the piece was constructed create a wonderfully rich landscape and surface that brings the pot to life. The vertical form is a creative play on the slab henko most often associated with Furutani Michio, but these hand built forms pre-date both potters. Churoku IV, Furutanai Hiromu, is the fourth generation to work in Shigaraki and he was trained by his father and took the Churoku name in 1976. His works have been exhibited both regionally and across Japan as well as in England and Germany and he is best known for his traditional pursuit of tea ceramics, chadogu, as well as making tsubo based on old Shigaraki tea storage jars. Furutani Churoku is a must stop if you are in the Shigaraki vicinity where you can see a wide array of his pottery including his evocative hi-iro style pots which he is also well known for. Glistening like a lichen covered roadside Jizo stone statue after a rain storm, this henko makes me think of the highways which passed through Shigaraki Valley from a time long passed.