2005 Winter - Intro - Visiting Japanese Kilns - Bizen - Tokoname - Seto & Tajimi
Bizen
Izuru Yamamoto
photography by Yasunobu Kobayashi
 Forging a new realm of Bizen with Japanese and French clays
With a background in sculpture and two years of study in France, Izuru Yamamoto produces Bizen pottery of startlingly radical form and color. He mixes 30 percent clay imported from Burgundy with local Bizen clay to give his work a unique quality. By nature, Bizen pottery becomes smooth to the touch and develops a luster only after years of use, yet Yamamoto's works emerge from the kiln displaying these characteristics.
He does not use a potter's wheel. Instead he forms his works from layered slabs and masses of clay, employing techniques unlike anything used in ceramics to date—perhaps reflecting his background in sculpture. The artist characterizes his works as having no front or back per se and strives to create pieces that are visually perfect from any viewing angle. Decant a bottle of red wine into one of Yamamoto's Bizen pottery wine pitchers and in no time its bouquet emerges. His vessels look just as beautiful serving French food as Japanese. The ceramic artist's inherently cosmopolitan sensibilities create pottery suitable for a diversity of world cuisines.
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Yamamoto's gallery has pieces ranging from his art objects to utilitarian vessels.
Sake flask and matching cup, 25,000 yen, are by Izuru Yamamoto himself.
From his assistants: bowls, 3,200 yen; teapot, 15,000 yen; sake cup (front), 2,500 yen; square plates, 1,000 yen each.
Izuru Yamamto
931-2 Imbe, Bizen-shi, Okayama
Tel. 0869-64-4789
Gallery hours 10 AM to 5 PM |
Makoto Kaneshige
photography by Shozo Kajiwara
 Pursuing classic and elemental forms
While most Bizen ceramic artists have their kilns in and around the city of Bizen, Kaneshige's studio is nestled in the quiet mountains outside Okayama City. Wth the kiln and artistic sensibilities he inherited from his father—the legendary Intangible Cultural Property Kaneshige Sozan—he pursues classic Bizen patterns and aesthetic qualities within the simplest of forms.
He believes that, "The simpler tableware is, the better. Simple vessels lend foods a straightforward presence. Above all, however, tableware should be comfortable to use." Among Bizen pottery, Kaneshige's tea and sake wares are renowned for their softness and warmth. His works continually display new variations, ranging from bright and vivid hidasuki (fire cord) markings on the palest of Bizen clay to coarser mountain-clay mixtures.
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Kaneshige strives to create pieces that are in keeping with our times. Simple, amorphic forms reveal one such solution. His hidasuki patterns are famed for their grace and elegance.
(photos by Shozo Kajiwara)
Maruyama-gama
1076 Maruyama, Okayama, Okayama
Tel. 086-277-8111
Call in advance to visit the kiln. The artist usually has 10 to 20 works at the kiln site. |
Mitsuru Isezaki
photography by Norio Asai
Imbuing inherited techniques with a sense of today
Walking along the Old Imbe Road at the edge of the Furogawa river, slipping back in time with each step forward, one's eye is drawn to a commanding thatch-roofed house: the studio of Mitsuru Isezaki and the distinguished family of potters that has produced a long line of prominent ceramic artists. Named an Okayama Prefecture Intangible Cultural Property in 1998 and the recipient of numerous awards, Isezaki pursues the forming, the "clay flavor," and firing of classic Momoyama-style tea wares. These he infuses with contemporary sensibilities. Depending on the work, he fires his pieces in either a noborigama (climbing kiln) or anagama (tunnel kiln) fired with split pine firewood—never electricity or gas.
Mitsuru Isezaki Studio
2207 Imbe, Bizen, Okayama
Tel. 0869-64-2572
Gallery Yozankyo open 9 to 5, closed Sundays
Gallery Togyoan open daily 9 to 5 |
Isezaki and his four sons are all ceramic artists. Gallery Togyoan, across the street from the studio, exhibits their works as well as Old-Bizen pieces. |
Touring Bizen
Getting there
Take the Tokaido Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Okayama Station (1 hour from Shin-Osaka Station). Change to the JR Ako Line and alight at either Imbe or Bizen Katakami Station (40 min.)
Gallery Shozan
Bizen's largest gallery features an array of works by potters ranging from young ceramic artists to Important Cultural Properties. Visitors can also have a go at making tebineri (hand-shaped) pieces.
599 Kagatomoto, Bizen, Okayama
Tel. 0869-66-7000
Open 10 AM to 5:30 PM, closed Mondays
Okayama Prefectural Bizen Ceramic Museum
Visit for a comprehensive overview of Bizen pottery, including history and techniques as well as the chance to see masterpieces of Old-Bizen wares, some by Living National Treasures.
1659-6 Imbe, Bizen, Okayama
Tel. 0869-64-1400
Open 9:30 AM to 5 PM, closed Mondays (Tuesdays, when Monday is a holiday)
Kokoro Sushi
This place serves fresh local seafood from the Inland Sea, including Okayama specialty sushi, on Bizen pottery.
Imbe Ekimae-dori, Bizen
Tel. 0869-64-0288
Articles from the 2005 WINTER issue:
Kateigaho International Edition Issues:
2005 SUMMER - 2005 SPRING - 2005 WINTER
2004 AUTUMN - 2004 SUMMER - 2004 SPRING - 2004 WINTER
2003 AUTUMN - INAUGURAL ISSUE
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