Fire When Ready

Tanuki cup with hat lid.

While it's not my intention to offend... but if you are the type to go to Pottery Barn for all of your artistic pottery needs, chances are you would find the town of Mashiko-machi in Tochigi-ken, Japan a tad overwhelming.

I was lucky enough to accompany the Ohtawara Junior High School third-year (Grade 9's) students on a field trip back in 1990, weeks after arriving.

Because I was still getting acclimatized to a new country and a new language and customs, I really had no clue where I was going or why I was going or even why they were nice enough to want me there. But, as far as that last point, even after just a few months in Japan, it was already quite evident to me that the Japanese are very hospitable. And they always were to me.

Hanging out with Shibata-sensei (Shibata teacher), the hip, good-looking English teacher from the school, he explained to me in near perfect English just where we were going and what the place had to offer. 

Mashiko, along with Arita in Saga-ken, and the towns of Seto and Tokoname in Aichi-ken, are known as places where the finest pottery in Japan is produced.

Now I have to admit that I was not a big pottery fan. It was just plates and dishes and cups, and so what? But when you actually visit a place and see it being made... well, it changes one's perception quite dramatically. 

Made in Canada by yer author.

I had always known that skill was heavily involved. Take a look at the blue cup with the letter A on it that I made back in grade 7. As well, there's the small bowl I made for my mother back in grade 5. Not sure why there's nothing from grade 6... If I can do it - and granted I'm not saying what I did was great (it's not), then really anyone can do it. 

I was wrong.

Mashiko-machi (Mashiko town) first began producing pottery back in 710AD, but as an art form, the town was unable to sustain any success - perhaps because the main potter died? Anyhow... in the 1800's, Mashiko revived its pottery skills in order to supply Edo (the capital now named Tokyo) and its 1-million residents with all of their kitchenware.   

Now here's where it gets interesting again... just like with Japan's national anthem (read about it  - Kimiyago), a gaijin (foreigner) became involved.

In 1909, Bernard Leach from England met a potter named Shoji Hamada. Leach had come to learn etching techniques, but it was Hamada's pottery skills that greatly impressed him, and the two began to work together. After working with each other for four years in England, Hamada returned to Japan to live in Mashiko where he used the excellent clay in the area. 

With his glazing and shaping skills, he became a master potter - which is also great for a town's reputation as well. 

Nowadays, there are too many potters to count in Mashiko, some better than others, but all are a lot more skilled than I ever was as an 11-year-old (obviously). 

My two favourite o-cha (green tea) cups. Rough on Left, ugly/beauty on right.

With the school (and a plethora of other schools from other towns), we received instruction on how pottery is created. Shibata-sensei said that one can even take a crack (bad choice of words) at making their own.   

We toured around a few kilns and shops, and pretty much everybody bought something - me more than others, because, well, I wanted to fit in. Being broke, be damned.

We were ushered to the town's square where there was a giant  - I thought it was a raccoon, but Shibat-sensei told me that the 20-foot high critter was called a tanuki (see top photo). We looked it up in my dictionary and discovered it was a mix of raccoon and dog. What it was, however was a pot-bellied critter with his wang jutting out. 

A flat dish. Again - texture.

Like you (in future blogs), I was to learn the Japanese have a lot of images involving sexual body parts (male & female). And while there was much tittering (sorry!) from some the girls, the boys all kind of stood at attention (ahem!) and stared at the tanuki with reverent awe.   

While I wasn't smart enough (again) to bring my camera, I did purchase the tanuki cup. 

The photo at the very top shows of some of the more artsy pottery I purchased that day. And, while I may not know what's good or bad pottery (okay, the stuff I made was really bad), I do like what I bought there.

If you ever do get a chance to visit Japan and Tochigi-ken, I highly recommend you spend a few hours in Mashiko. Tell them I sent you. It won't mean a darn thing, but imagine the look on their face as they will politely try to remember who you are talking about.

A nicely textured vase.

Since I didn't do anything spectacular - like knock over the statue, or break all of the wares in a shop - I was just another shopper to them... and mind you you, not once that day did I hear the word gaijin. After all, they must be used to seeing us all after a hundred years.

Somewhere my clay is achin' over my lack of artistic skill,

Andrew Joseph

Today's blog title is brought to us by: Perfect Strangers: FIRE WHEN READY, in this case implies the firing of the pottery. The lyrics have nothing to do with anything I have to say today. It's also country rock. Lite.  

PS: clay is achin' is a poor pun relative to former American Idol television star, Clay Aikens. I said I had no artistic skill.