Hello everyone, how are you doing?
Just when it felt like spring-like days were here to stay, we still have days with a chill in the air, making it a season where holding a piece of pottery feels even more comforting.
Today, I would like to introduce the exhibition of Yuho Kaneshige, titled "Kotodama of Earth," currently being held at the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art.
As you all know, Mr. Kaneshige is an artist who has engaged with various types of clay beyond Bizen ware, including white porcelain and Karatsu, and his works are incredibly diverse, ranging from tableware, tea bowls, and water containers to the large-scale ceramic towers he has unveiled in recent years.
This exhibition is said to focus on works created over the past ten years, including his latest pieces, totaling about 70 items, making it a true culmination of his work since 2000.
A major highlight is surely how his approach to tea ceramics—particularly tea bowls—is clearly presented in chronological order.
By tracing the evolution of his work from 2000 onwards, it seems this exhibition allows you to touch upon his journey itself, revealing not just the changes in his style, but what he has sought and what he has let go of over such a long time.
Seeing this exhibition, I recalled the words he said when we first met.
"Tsuchi (field clay) is truly frightening. Everything you are thinking appears through your fingers into the work."
He taught me that because field clay is the ultimate material, it reflects even the inner state of the maker.
Especially when looking at the evolution of his tea bowls in this exhibition, it feels as if the human ego within him and emotions unnecessary for pottery have been gradually stripped away.
And I felt that what remained after all that stripping away became, through the supreme medium of field clay, a vessel that finally stirs the soul.
I would also like to introduce the Ibe tea bowl "Senshu" by Yuho Kaneshige, which we carry at our shop.
This piece was created around 2022, marking a midpoint in the current flow of his Ibe tea bowl production.
While based in the brownish hue characteristic of Bizen clay, a madder red—much like an autumn sunset—silently seeps from within, giving it a profound sense of depth.
Rather than having colors that burst forth brilliantly, it possesses a charm where the colors gently emerge from the depths of the clay. When combined with the green of matcha, it is a luxurious tea bowl that makes you feel as though you are enjoying spring and autumn at the same time.
At first glance, it is a tea bowl with a very simple and quiet silhouette, but a great deal of time was spent to achieve that form.
After shaping it on the potter's wheel, he slowly refined the form by stroking it repeatedly with his fingertips, creating countless delicate fluctuations of the clay on the surface of the vessel.
Its texture possesses a dense presence, much like looking at the bark of an ancient tree that has weathered many years.Furthermore, in contrast to the dense clay surface on the outside, the interior is as calm as a tranquil sea, with the clay appearing to ripple softly.
Combined with that quiet interior and the sharply honed rim, there is a sensation that it draws the matcha straight down into the pit of your stomach.
Additionally, the artist's own title for this work is "Senshu" (A Thousand Autumns). Along with the beautiful hue that evokes an autumn sunset, isn't it a truly impressive name that makes one feel the length of time Mr. Kaneshige has walked to bring this work to fruition?
【Exhibition Information】
Yuho Kaneshige: Kotodama of Earth
Dates: Sunday, March 8 – Sunday, May 17, 2026
Hours: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM (Last admission at 4:30 PM)
Closed: Mondays (or the following day if it falls on a holiday), May 7 (Thu)
*Open on May 5 (Tue)
Venue: Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art
Address: 3021 Mashiko, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi
TEL: 0285-72-7555
Web: www.mashiko-museum.jp
Title: Yuho Kaneshige - Ibe Tea Bowl "Senshu"
Size: Diameter 12.5cm × 12.3cm × Height 9.7cm
Price: Sold