“Class,” “character,” and “allure“
Such words were often uttered by my father as I embarked on my career.
Put into context, he conveyed each as representing an aesthetic imperative, thus they would have a vital role to play in whatever pieces I created going forward.
To comment on each one in more detail, early on, I struggled with the quintessential essence of “character.” Thus, as I developed my craft, such was something about which I was especially conscious. Concerning the idea that my wares should also be capable of delivering on “class,” I made sure to both infuse what I created with life, and to then nurture such forms extensively. Concurrently, however, as to how I related to it as a construct, on “class,” I felt that it was possible to exercise some control over the extent to which it might be developed. Finally, “allure” was something that I felt that I did not know that much about. Thus, I suppose that it was not necessarily good enough for it merely to be a general player in what I was doing.
In letting my thoughts stray to the world of kabuki, in addition to the need for practitioners to polish their skills, to improve the nature of the work more generally, the importance of drawing on the lives of those individuals involved is often cited. However, depending on the type of job in which the individual is employed, and their relative position to it, I feel there are certain ways of living that are maybe not as important within a given context. Concerning that premise in and of itself, perhaps because I have been conscious of such forms since starting my career, I particularly like pottery to which I feel is attached a certain smell. To put that declaration into perspective, among the works of historically-famous practitioners, and among those forms often described as representing a masterpiece, it is not necessarily a given that everything will coincide with my own sensibilities. Similarly, there are wares for which the “class” aesthetic far outshines everything else. There are also pieces whose depiction of “character” borders on being oppressive. Additionally, there are still other examples of traditional domestic pottery for whom the “alluring” imperative has been overstressed. Concerning aficionados with a soft spot for such pieces, I suppose that the forms successfully reach out to them on a certain level within the context of their lives. Either that or such pieces are desired and taken in hand so as to provide their eventual owners with a sense of fulfilment.
Having offered such thoughts, in the recent past there has been the appearance of new genres of both creators and purchasers. For each, in addition to the “class,” “character” and “alluring” imperatives, there has been the emergence of being “fashionable” as well. What is more, in recent years within the world of Japanese pottery, there has been the establishment of a more defined position. Thus, when I consider the wider world that exists beyond these shores, I feel it was inevitable that differences occurred in tableware as a result of those variations that are present within the lifestyles and food cultures of different peoples. Put differently, it is quite obvious that previously we did not produce wares that might be used for serving pasta or curry, because such culinary options were not within the collective consciousness or on our traditional menus back during the Edo period. Such might also be expressed thus. Namely, whereas to date when eating such cuisine, we made best use of Japanese tableware as substitutes of necessity, it is only recently that we have got to the point of having access to a range of genuine purpose-created domestic items.
To mention the world of Japanese arts and crafts again, there has been a long-term manifestation of the so-called “Galapagos Syndrome,” in that essentially there has been the isolated development of a range of products that merely represent an offshoot branch of something globally available. What is more, I would argue that with the end of such isolation, there are now also some traditional techniques within our domestic arts and crafts that are being pushed to the point of extinction. Against such a backcloth, concerning those particular pottery forms to which I feel there is attached a certain smell, in looking to the future, I would like to see them “roped off” and protected for prosperity.
When I consider the stylish aesthetic as it has arisen from the world of Munemaru Ishiguro, the celebrated potter, within my mind’s eye I see a Bizen tokkuri paired with a guinomi created in the madarakaratsu style. Using Oribe tableware, what could be better than pieces finished using old glaze setting the stage for servings of snapper and tuna. Adding to such an ambiance would be a vase in the Iga style that contained but a single bloom of a wildflower. Such would represent a satisfying time in space to which everyone might be invited.
