LEGACY

I heard a couple weeks ago that one of my favorite potters has passed away, Nishiura Takashi (1941-2024) of Echizen. His work is filled with the primal elements of what I think of as the Echizen tradition in modern times and of course there was no measure spared in adding a few spices to the mix and clearly showing his own voice in surface and form. Beyond his traditionally fired Echizen pots, Nishiura is well known for his hekisha-yu, blue sand glaze which though doesn't immediately appear like your everyday Echizen potter, it clearly adds another layer (no pun intended) to style that runs the gamut from very traditional to the likes of Kumano Kuroemon.   

This particular Nishiura tsubo was originally thrown round and paddled gently into an ovalled form creating this disticnt henko style for which he is well known. As is abundantly clear, this form is a perfect canvas for the applied sand glaze and the array of wood fired effects that build up and melt the surface into what stands before you. As a mixture of happenstance, gravity and temperature, the hekisha-yu surface paints the canvas in a unique way, never duplicated placing a narrative in front of the viewer that will vary from person to person and certainly from pot to pot. 

Though I am rather sad in hearing about his passing, I believe that Nishiura Takashi will inevitably be remembered as an essential lynchpin between the older tradition and what has become the modern state of Echizen-yaki leaving behind a legacy of pottery that clearly proclaims that Echizen stands with the other Rokkoyo and is ready for whatever the future holds.