STAPLE

When you think of the larger pottery studios across Japan the constant hum and bustle of the master, apprentices and other various works brings to life the pottery of every day use throughout the country. These big potteries produce functional and utilitarian ware in every conceivable shape, size and surface from Bizen, Oribe, Shino, Shigaraki and of course Mashiko to name but a few. Illustrated is what is arguably the definitive kyusu style teapot direct for Mashiko and the studio of the late master, Shimaoka Tatsuzo. Created with pure function and elemental aesthetics in mind, this style of teapot is a pleasure to use and contemplate while enjoying one's tea. The angles of the comfortable handle and well constructed spout are perfect for the task and the lid sits just deeply enough in the gallery to stay put while the classic Shimaoka surface adds more to the experience than just the simple act of pouring tea. Though based on a number of archetypes that proceeded it, this teapot is a quintessential staple of the Shimaoka pottery and all those apprentices who came and went over the decades of such considered and thoughtful design and production.

EGARATSU

With the perfect pigment and brush and a well practiced hand, the decoration on this Egaratsu chawan seems tailor made for this pot, creating motion and both accentuating the horizontal natural of the form and adding wispy hints to allude to the vertical. Made by Maruta Munehiko (b.1961) this chawan sums up what Egaratsu is about with this pot easily identifiable as that style. Maruta grew up around clay as his father, Maruta Masami was a famous folk potter before going on to study with Hamada Atsuya, third son of Hamada Shoji before returning home to Karatsu to set up his own studio. Using a number of local clays and in various Karatsu styles, Maruta create a rich and diverse array of pottery of which the Egaratsu is among my favorite. Even in a field, crowded by a number of potters and pots it would be hard to just walk by this bowl without having the feeling that it needs to be picked up and brought home with all due haste.

"In the brush doing what its doing, it will stumbles on what one couldn't do by oneself."  Robert Motherwell

KO-TSUBO II

Illustrated is a small little jar made in Fujina, it is combed slipware with a soft greenish toned ame-yu glaze made by mingei purist; Funaki Michitada (1900-1963). Measuring in at less than four inches tall, this pot is a little gem with a swollen, full presence with a perfect little knob made just right to get the job done. Influenced by Old English slipware and Bernard Leach, Michitada and his son, Kenji (b. 1927) have carried out a crusade for creating beautiful and functional pots in a blended style of medieval England and Japan. This lidded ko-tsubo is made out of an iron rich reddish clay that just peeks out through the combed texture revealing a dark surface just beneath. Having a wonderful, natural feel in hand with a lid fits just right and the knob just asking to be grabbed this is a mingei pot through and through.

PAST AND PRESENT

It is amazing what a few years and some simple advancements in technology can make on the ability to capture an image, from camera obscura to advanced megapixel sensors, technology never stands still. Not long ago I was fortunate enough to handle a very nice Kawai Kanjiro chawan for study and took quite a few photos and detail shots; the form and foot are classic and the glaze and decoration is rich and crisp showing off the best of what Kawai created in a small and simple space. While flipping through and older issue of the magazine THE MINGEI, I spotted a very similar bowl which was photographed in black and white for the publication and combined the two images to get a sense of the photographic renderings, past and present. At first glance it is easy to say the modern, digital photo is a much better representation of the bowl but I still think there are things that B&W photo has that are of value, it presents a much more focused façade of the bowl as well as shadow lines and certain details that don't immediately jump out in the color photo. All in all, I'll go with the modern photo and thanks to digital photography it is easy to take literally hundreds of photos which capture all of the nuances and details that make the chawan a total object. I can only imagine how archaic these modern images will look when we start taking 3-D and holographic renderings of objects in the not so distant future.

KAPPABAN

When I think of Yoshitoshi Mori (1898-1992) my mind immediately goes to the striking kappaban stencil prints of great samurai warriors and battles as well as the evocative bijin prints he is so well known for. Mori covered a lot of ground in his mingei influenced prints and among some of his best works are the prints of the everyday; people at work and engaged in the business of living. This particular kappaban charged with energy, portraying a potter at work making a sizeable vase in his studio, oblivious to all but his pursuit, chasing after the nobility of the common. The print appears to present a pot being created by the coil and throw method which is a common practice in Japan and shows that despite the simplicity of the design, the attention to certain details was paramount to Mori to capture the essence of the image. Using only the color of the paper, black and brown, Yoshitoshi Mori shows us the noble pursuit of a potter and his creation at an elemental and pure level that is rarely seen.

YURIKO II

I found this photo searching around the web and was struck by the contrast of the milky ashy grey surface with the vivid red (yuriko) that punctuates the design on either side of the bowl. There is an undeniable mastery to Kawai's brushwork and his ability to manipulate space with his design and decoration, few if any are as capable. In a few experienced strokes, the pots breathes life and blends ceremony, function and presentation without a moment's hesitancy. As I look at his pots I can help but think how modern they must have seen at the time and now though they can be used to measure the modern pottery movement, they are positively timeless, they echo the past and present in this moment. If Kawai were alive today in more than just spirit, his pots would still continue to confront, engage and captivate the viewer with  a simple conversation about the present.

"I have realized that the past and the future are real illusions, that they exist only in the present, which is what there is and all there is."  Alan Watts (1915-1973)

FOUR SIGHT

There is a profound simplicity , honesty and beauty to the "ordinary" pottery of the original mingei movement. Pots that stressed utility and function married with common aesthetics that everyday people could connect with. There is a profund The pots of Hamada Shoji, Kawai Kanjiro, Murata Gen, Sakuma Totaro and Ueda Tsuneji (上田恒次) among others were inspired and created to be used and continue on varying folk traditions that seemed to be suffering at the hands of an unbridled output of industry and mass production. The Mingei movement like the Arts & Crafts Movement sought to bring the concept of the hand made back to the forefront as not to be totally over run by factory produced goods. Though the mingei movement has its proponents today, it was the first generation of mingei potters that helped launch a revolution among potters and whose influence is still felt today.

Among the early mingei potters, Ueda Tsuneji (1914-1987) stands out for the practical and elegant works that he produced in shinsha, seihakuji, hakuji and neriage. He apprenticed with Kawai Kanjiro and even studied wheel throwing with Hamada Shoji for a time, but it is under Kawai that he learned the "studio secrets" of the Chinese T'ang techniques of neriage and nerikomi. Though quite adept at a number of styles, Ueda's mastery of neriage stands out as bold and rich pattern integrated within his simple and common forms. Working in a variety of techniques, his neriage created overall patterns as well as designs woven into form. The illustrated mizusashi in four views shows how adeptly Ueda built pattern that worked with and enriched each sides creating four associated but individual views around the pot. Though neriage/nerikomi are common  enough techniques today, Ueda mastered the process through trial and error when few others sought to marry mingei pottery with long forgotten ancient techniques for everyday use and admiration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HONTO

There is a lot one can say about Funaki Kenji (b.1927) from idealist to a staple in the Mingei tradition. Unlike most of the post-war potters, Kenji embraced the teaching of both Bernard Leach and Yanagi Soetsu and in doing so fused together a distinctly Japanese sensibility with hints of Old English pottery and his personal mingei journey. This journey started under the tutelage of both Leach and his father, Funaki Michitada (1900-1963) creating a foundation for a dedicated mingei style. Working on the shoulders of the Fujina tradition and the Fujina-gama, founded in 1845, Funaki Kenji has crafted work that is direct, honest and aesthetically pleasing. His forms and glazes maintain a balance of function and practical utility but the simplicity of his pottery is betrayed by the luminescence and depth of the surfaces married well to strong and noble pots. Illustrated is a rather utilitarian covered jar, at its core a pot for everyday use, but examine the various details, the handles and knob are both practical and aesthetic considerations, the volume and decorative accents animates the verticality of the pot and rich, lustrous glazes encapsulate the piece to bring it all together and to life. It is a functional pot for everyday use, but the truth of the pot is, it is so much more.

"The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple." Oscar Wilde

BLUE MONDAY XV

Illustrated is another wonderful, colorful and impromptu painting by master wood-block artist; Munakata Shiko. Munakata's spontaneous painting depicts a  gosu blue molded vase by his lifelong friend, Kawai Kanjiro filled with red camilla branches framing the pot along with a line of line of quickly rendered calligraphy. There are quite a few Munakata prints and paintings that use Kawai pottery as a central theme which is a touching tribute to not only their friendship by their great respect for each other and the mingei craft movement.

"Friendship is neither a formality or a mode; it is rather a life."   David Grayson

TETSU-YU TEOKE

I must admit, I have always been fascinated, even in awe of the handled henko forms of Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966). Their monolithic presence, despite their size, is undeniable and from my first encounter with them, I was in love. The handled press molded henko I am referring to were produced during the early 1960s and consist mainly of three styles; sancai (tri-color), gosu blue over thick hakeme and his rich temmoku with splashes of vivid green and orange-red overglaze. These forms are exceedingly evocative and though absolutely Kawai’s own creation, they harken back to the traditional teoke (water bucket) forms of Edo period Japan. The earlier teoke archetype is seen in clay, lacquer, wood and even occasionally metal. These forms ran the gamut from artist produced works to the everyday craftsman’s mingei.

Once I made my way to Cleveland, it was not uncommon to see Dick and Patty Schneider both making handled basket forms in varying sizes and styles. I was initially intrigued and like learning to assemble the pieces parts of teapots, I tried out the fundamentals of the handled basket form as well. Illustrated is a medium size teoke basket form from my last firing. It is glazed in my temmoku and tetsu-yu and though a bit difficult to see, the form is ever so slightly lobed and the glaze has run straight down the soft indented line. The runny nature of the glaze accentuates the vertical nature of the form and keeps the relatively undecorated form and handle from being dull. When I unloaded the kiln, I was pleasantly surprised by how the glaze “fermented” around the flat surface of the lip; it created an interesting pattern that I couldn’t have planned any better.