OLD WAYS

Emerging from the shadows and coated in a nice layer of ash and glass, this Shigaraki chaire reminds me of those antique feudal pieces that you can see in museums, especially in and around Shigaraki. There is as with many of these pieces, a timeless quality, a sense of antiquity where pots had strong, practical and purposeful forms and on a good day a rather well fired surface. This chaire was made by Tani Seiuemon who had for years studied and collected old pots and was dedicated to making Shigaraki-yaki in the "old ways" right down to building an anagama based on old Muromachi period designs. 

Using local Shigaraki clay and woods favored for such uncomplicated surfaces, there are many of the characteristics of the earlier archetypes in Tani's pottery from the way the clay is handled, to posture and the various marks and spatula work. I think it may be safe to say Tani Seiuemon's  works don't have the bold charisma of Tsuji Seimei or the flare and playfulness of Suzuki Goro but when it comes down to simplicity, honesty and practicality his pots are first on my list for use and for adding a magical and solitary sense of antiquity to a shelf in an otherwise modern environment.