I went to Ehime Prefecture with Mr. Yuho Kaneshige.
bizen
陶芸家に会う
Hello everyone, how are you all doing?There have been many mornings and evenings lately where we can feel the coolness of autumn.The once noisy sounds of the cicadas have faded away, and lately, the crickets have been chirping often.Well, today’s post is about a trip to Ehime Prefecture, where I was invited to accompany Arishige Kaneshige to visit a couple who are major collectors of tea bowls.We were hosted by the inn "Sendan," which offers guests a chance to enjoy the famous Dogo Onsen and wonderful cuisine featuring Ehime's bounty from the sea, such as Uwajima sea bream.After dinner, we had the pleasure of enjoying tea served in tea bowls created by Arishige Kaneshige himself.He whisked the tea for us, and as we held the bowls in our hands, he shared invaluable stories about the craft of tea bowl making.It was an incredibly meaningful time for someone involved in Bizen ware to learn about Raku and Ido tea bowls—the pinnacle of the craft—as well as various research on historic tea ceramics and rare anecdotes about Toyo Kaneshige during his final years.A story about Toyo Kaneshige from Arishige’s first solo exhibition left a particularly deep impression on me.It was a conversation that took place in a car on the way back after Toyo had visited Arishige’s first exhibition.When Toyo asked Arishige about the exhibition, Arishige replied, "Gratefully, all of the pieces I exhibited were sold." Toyo suddenly became very angry and shouted, "What a thing to say!"Arishige, surprised, asked for the reason, and was told, "The goal of a solo exhibition is not to sell out completely."He explained that you should not put together a collection of pieces that are all sure to sell, but rather keep 20 percent of them unsold.The reason, he said, is that those remaining 20 percent should be pieces that challenge the world, and you should take them home to use as fuel for further study.These words are so characteristic of Toyo, who continued to take on challenges even during difficult times.It is deeply moving to think that those words are linked to Arishige’s own relentless spirit of challenge today.
After dinner, we had the pleasure of enjoying tea served in tea bowls created by Arishige Kaneshige himself.
He whisked the tea for us, and as we held the bowls in our hands, he shared invaluable stories about the craft of tea bowl making.
It was an incredibly meaningful time for someone involved in Bizen ware to learn about Raku and Ido tea bowls—the pinnacle of the craft—as well as various research on historic tea ceramics and rare anecdotes about Toyo Kaneshige during his final years.
A story about Toyo Kaneshige from Arishige’s first solo exhibition left a particularly deep impression on me.
It was a conversation that took place in a car on the way back after Toyo had visited Arishige’s first exhibition.
When Toyo asked Arishige about the exhibition, Arishige replied, "Gratefully, all of the pieces I exhibited were sold." Toyo suddenly became very angry and shouted, "What a thing to say!"
Arishige, surprised, asked for the reason, and was told, "The goal of a solo exhibition is not to sell out completely."
He explained that you should not put together a collection of pieces that are all sure to sell, but rather keep 20 percent of them unsold.
The reason, he said, is that those remaining 20 percent should be pieces that challenge the world, and you should take them home to use as fuel for further study.
These words are so characteristic of Toyo, who continued to take on challenges even during difficult times.
It is deeply moving to think that those words are linked to Arishige’s own relentless spirit of challenge today.