To Ms. O’s Class

Thanks to all of you for following my blog, it was really fun to write and now to have as a sort of diary of my trip; now, on to specific questions:

Diego – well, I ate part of the KitKat bar and I don’t think I ended up glowing, but I did notice I had a slightly light green tint (not really).  And yes, I did meet some monks.  We actually met with a woman monk at a Zen monastery (Sogendo-ji) in Kurashiki; her name is Chi-san and she was quite wonderful (see her and Jeff, our tour guide, in the picture).

Brett – yes, they do eat those candy bars, it actually tasted a lot like white chocolate with a hint of green tea flavor; have you ever tasted green tea?

Patrick – thanks for reading the blog, I hope learned something about Japan from what I wrote.

Tyler – I’d love to come to your class and talk about my trip and show you guys how to make pots, I’m just not sure I’ll be able to get there before the end of your school year, but thank you so much for your interest, and to the rest of the students. 

If I don't see you, have great summers!

Back in the US of A

Well, it's officially over.  We left Narita (Tokyo) at about 4:30 PM Wednesday (Japan time) and arrived in Newark at about 4:15 PM (Eastern time); pretty cool, we arrived back here 15 minutes before we left Japan; gotta love international travel.  All went extremely smoothly and the 13 hour flight didn't seem as bad as the one to Japan, guess I knew what to expect.

I think it's going to take a while to digest and process all that we saw; there was so much.  Not sure what it will mean for my life or my ceramic work, but I'm sure there will be some influence on both; the trip was a very powerful experience.  I could have easily spent more time in Japan, it's a magical place.  It is, however, nice to be home, feels like time to get back to work, of all kinds.   

Not sure how much more I'll write here.  I may post some ruminations for a few days, but I'm not sure.  However, when I do decide to call it quits, I will post a final blog entry.

I leave you with a last bit of Japanese wonderment, a green tea KitKat bar; only in Japan!

The End is Near

Hey all, sorry to have been out of touch for the last few days, it’s been a whorl wind experience touring with Shapiro san; he’s kept us moving from place to place and meeting many of his potter friends, a truly unforgettable and invaluable opportunity.  Our last meeting was with the wild and wooly Shiro Tsujimura, his son Yui and wife Miako; this was the craziest of all our visits and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

I write this as I’m sitting in Narita airport outside of Tokyo waiting (for 4 more hours!) for our flight back to depart.  I have many pictures (too many really), too many books (my back and shoulder are killing me), and too many pots (guinomi mostly, but a couple of Shiro’s teabowls too!); all of this will require some explanation.  

Shiro tries his newest sake cup; Hai!

See you all soon!

A Day in Bizen

What a day.  Started this misty, rainy day on a train headed to Bizen; it was nice to look out and see the mountains shrouded in fog, quite picturesque.  We started by arriving at the anagama kiln site of Isezaki Jun (a Living National Treasure) and his son Koichiro.  The kiln was in the final stages of being fired, with Koichiro and 5 other helpers stoking the side ports.  Following this we were taken to the home and studio of Mr. Jun to drink matcha (powdered green tea) and see work and enjoy conversation.  After this visit we headed off to see two other ceramic artists; first Fumio Kawabata and then Ryuichi Kakurezaki (a former apprentice for Mr. Jun).  Interesting to be in a country were ceramics really matter.

It’s been a full day and is scheduled to end with Mr. Jun buying us all dinner here in Okayama, at an Italian restaurant strangely enough; should be a wonderful meal.  Photos of the mist, Mr. Jun and Mr. Kakurezaki follow:

 

Amazing Days

Two amazing days.  Yesterday (Monday) was off to the Korakuen National Garden, beautiful place.

Today was a Zen monastery in the morning and the Ohara Museum in Kurashiki in the afternoon.  At the monastery we got to speak with an old friend of Jeff's who is a nun there, wonderful pure spirit who discussed the ideas of zen with a clarity I haven't experienced in years.  Tomorrow off to the town of Bizen and all the old friends Jeff left behind many years ago.

I should first like to start with a belated Mother’s Day wish to all the mothers who may be reading this post. Being at the Ryozan Hot Springs on Sunday night put us well out of reach of the wired world; sort of like being in Shangri-La (anyone remember “Lost Horizon?”). Really great experience, food and preparation were amazing, and the hot baths were just heavenly; this morning I thought I’d never get out. Yesterday (Monday) we just arrived on Okayama where we’ll be for three nights, more on this to come.

Photo is of Ann drinking tea from an Arakawa teabowl at Toyoba's studio. Arakawa was a Living National Treasure; we visited a museum in his honor on Sunday; the birthplace of Japanese Shino.

Suzuki Goro

Hard to pick the highlight of today, although easy to say it all revolved around Suzuki Goro, or as Jeff calls him, “the mad potter of Seto.”  From our arrival and tour of his studio to his joining us for dinner at Siratama in Nagoya (and buying all the drinks though he himself does not imbibe), through his soulful karaoke renditions of Japanese folk tunes (second only to Alan doing “Gotta be Rock and Roll Music”) it was an amazing day.  We started at the Tokugawa Garden and Museum in Nagoya, which were quite special and beautiful, before heading off to Goro san’s home.  He and his wife and daughter were extremely welcoming and his home and studio are impressive places.  By estimation he currently has about 300 varieties of clay and well over 100 different feldspars; just an amazing storehouse of ceramic materials (more than a life-time’s worth by his own admission).  He makes so many different types of work it’s hard to believe that what he produces comes from a single person; he is nothing if not prolific!

I’ll leave you this evening with three wonderful images; one of Jeff with a large Goro san piece (don’t get any ideas Tyler!), one of Goro san singing karaoke, and one of Alan “bringin’ down the house.”  Enjoy and thanks for listening.

Nagoya - Bullet Train Ride

So, we made it out of Tokyo by bullet train (very cool!) this afternoon, arrived at Nagoya about 4:30 PM.  Too bad we couldn’t stay longer in Tokyo, seems all systems are pretty much back to normal, but plans were made last month when things didn’t look so rosy.  It is amazing how empty Tokyo was because of the nuclear concerns, not that I would have noticed, but Jeff was able to point this out.  Nagoya much livelier, at least for the 20’s set (leaves Alan, Jeff, basically all of us out of the loop). 

Went to Musee Tomo in Tokyo, which had a pretty amazing ceramics show; mostly large scale, contemporary work and very design oriented, but still a very nice show.  Train ride was interesting, saw the foot of Mt. Fuji but it was too cloudy to see the entire mountain, oh well, just means I need to come back!  Dinner was great and unexpected (even by Jeff who couldn’t find the restaurant we were supposed to eat at), but this was no problem given the great improvising skills of Shapiro san.  Tomorrow will be a great day with stops at Suzuki Goro’s studio, we’ll see some great work I’m sure, but highly unaffordable!