Anagama: Zen and My kind of Pottery

Snow Moon Flower

Three flavours dull the palate,
Four tones deafen the ears,
Five colours blind the eyes.
Choose one wisely,
. . .and it is many already.
Summer 2008

Desire for fame leads to wrongs,
and seeking favour is degrading.
Humble eye sees true beauty,
while the most are blinded with avarice.
Spring 2008

Inspired by Zen

    It seems that I am always drawn more to pots that have been scarred by wood firing. Some came into my possesion.
    This large Shigaraki has many blisters and the distorted bottom. Later a big hole was made on the side to pour liquid out. Its neck was chopped off with my intent.
    After hardships brought on by domestic use over many centuries, it seems the pot's life is coming to an end. Yet its beauty has never faded.

< h.56.0cm/d.49.5cm >
Late Muromachi Period - 16th Century

Beauty of Usefulness

Clay is shaped to make a vessel, and what's useful is its emptieness

(Oribe bowl and Bizen kiln shelf - both early 17th century)

Great correctness may appear twisted, great skill appear crude, great eloquence appear awkward.
Great perfection may appear imperfect, but its usefulness is inexhaustible.
Great abundance may appear empty, but its usefulness cannot be exhausted.
(Lao Tzu circa 500 B.C. China)

My Memory of Master 'Furutani Michio'

(Pots above are by Furutani Michio)

    Master Furutani didn't take on any apprentices. I only saw a few close friends around him and he rarely invited his clients to his studio.
    I joined his firings and kiln openings a few times in Shigaraki and Iga. As far as I remember, he used no pyrometers and cones for his firings. He was casually stoking split-wood and watching the flames. At night, inbetween stokes, we used to go outside to gaze at the stars and at the moon. We worked quietly with his kiln till dawn.
    At the end of the firing, the kiln was clammed up and rested to cool for a few days.
    His pots were brought out and were laid out in his yard. All the pots were looking a bit too dry at first, but soon, perhaps after having breathed moisture in the air, they started to look fresh and very attractive.
    Master Furutani was taciturn, but he was very witty when he spoke. He rarely talked about his pottery, but we had more amusing topics and had really good fun chatting anyway. I refrained from asking questions about his kiln building. I observed what he was doing and tried to learn his master-strokes. Somehow after finding me dead serious about wood-fired pottery, he started to teach me every detail of his pottery skills. This experience has changed my life completely.

    He didn't tell me he was coming to see me at my first exhibition in Tokyo, in 1997. And he took me to a restaurant where we enjoyed lunch and a good chat. He encouraged me in my new career as a potter. This was to be our last meeting, as he told me he had been fighting against cancer and had been on medication for a long time.
    Silently Master Furutani passed away in the summer of 2000.

    Master Furutani left his Anagama secrets and beautiful wood-fired vessels with me. Day by day, his 'Quiet Teaching' is getting more and more invaluable to me ...

... and I miss him very much.