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November 22, 2024
 

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Robert Yellin
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Mar 20, 2002
Clay forms waiting to be unearthed
A lump of clay; what forms sleep undiscovered within? There are many ways potters can shape the "earth" they see, the most common is to throw it on a wheel or rokuro. Other ways include tebineri (hand-pinching), himo-zukuri (coil-building), tatara-zukuri (slab-building) or wari-gata (piece-molding)....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Feb 13, 2002
An art collector's dream on display
"In the mid-1950s, I saw an irresistible inflow of Western culture, mostly American, into war-devastated Japan. I witnessed a fading of our culture, which had been passed to us from generation to generation. As I watched the change, I felt a sense of fear that our next generation might not know what...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jan 16, 2002
Eternal vessels and dreams of clay
Machiko Ogawa's creations are like ancient memories wrought from clay and buried centuries ago, waiting to be discovered today. Like scenes long lost in the maze of the mind, the ceramic artist's work reappears as if emerging from a dream -- a dream formed of clay.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 12, 2001
Diverse splendor in many a jar
The depth and variety of Japanese pottery has enraptured the senses for many a season. As the seasons change and the baton of life is passed on, the beauty of older Japanese pottery remains unwithered, even in this winter season and amid all the changes that have occurred within and without. In a sense,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Nov 14, 2001
To see a world in a bowl of tea
"Kokoro shugetsu ni nitari," which translates as "My mind is like the autumn moon," is a line from a Chinese poem expressing the Zen sensation felt strongly during this harvest season. Pure and reflecting without hesitation, the moon is a metaphor for our hearts and one that all of humanity could do...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Oct 10, 2001
The mystery and the mastery
Most styles of Japanese pottery are named after the city where they are made, such as Mashiko in Tochigi Prefecture, while others bear a family name, such as Raku. However, one style of pottery is named after a place that had nothing do to with its production.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2001
Savor the compassionate complexity of kirei-sabi's 'elegant simplicity'
Credited with shaping the Rinpa style of Japanese art, Ogata Korin (1658-1716) once caused a sensation at an opulent riverside picnic by nonchalantly producing his lunch tied up in a bamboo leaf. Onlookers watched in disbelief as the master unwrapped his simple fare, revealing that the underside of the...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Sep 12, 2001
Power and purity both old and new
The colorful ceramic culture of Kyoto meets the darker, subdued world of Karatsu potter Jinenbo Nakagawa this week at the Tachikichi department store in Kyoto.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 8, 2001
Treasures to be hoarded
Here's an odd request: have a look in my closet.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 18, 2001
Top ceramic artists take a final bow
The 38th Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition's grand prix-winning work looks as if the top is going to snap off at any moment and destroy the piece. Yet it defies gravity, frozen in time by fire.
COMMUNITY
Jul 15, 2001
A potter's journey
The late potter Michiaki Kaneshige said that even though he grew up in an ancient potting family, he never fully understood the value of Japanese culture until he left these shores.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jul 11, 2001
Pottering in a forest of memory
"A magnificent sunset burns beyond the horizon. Trees are ablaze against the fiery sky. The beauty of the dark silhouettes left an everlasting sensation." These are the words of potter Moriyoshi Saeki from a book published in 1995 titled "The Vibrant Potters of Tochigi."
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jun 13, 2001
Lightning strikes in Isezaki's Bizen
I once asked the veteran Bizen potter Jun Isezaki why he makes certain shapes exactly the same as they were centuries ago. His reply was simple: "What works well need not be changed."
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 30, 2001
Avant-garde work takes top honors at 16th biennial Nihon Togei Ten
The 16th biennial "Nihon Togei Ten (Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition)" at Tokyo's Daimaru Museum is a must-see for anyone interested in the current ceramics scene.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 9, 2001
The evolution of ceramic form
The creative journey for many an artist begins with an inner dialogue, a conflict, questioning. A voice in the inquisitive mind doubts existing rules and boundaries while challenging the artist to redefine and broaden them.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 11, 2001
Abe's enchanted villa inspires sublime pottery
In peaceful hamlets throughout Japan, local potters work at their own pace while garnering a loyal local following. There are literally thousands of such ceramists, and the serene environment in which they work nurtures and supports their artistic endeavors in subtle ways.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Mar 24, 2001
Jagged little pots dictating form
Asia week had New York City awash with auctions, gallery openings and lectures. Two major auction houses had Japanese art on the block, and five Kyoto potters were exhibiting at the Barry Friedman Gallery in an exhibition organized by Joan Mirviss.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Mar 10, 2001
An innovative, magical potter
Meiji Era craftsmen lived in a world of divergent influences: Galle glass, French bronzes, Art Nouveau designs, Chinese celadons and tenmoku tea bowls, as well as their own traditions, whose product was at the crossroads between being an industrial export or the aesthetic vision of the individual artist....
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Feb 24, 2001
Names writ in letters of fire
The leading ceramics quarterly Honoho Geijutsu recently published a very interesting survey in its 65th issue, listing the names of the most important (juyo) and popular (ninki) ceramic artists of the 20th century.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Feb 10, 2001
The beauty of the dark side
Black is usually associated with the "dark side" -- evil, frightening, and negative. But in the Way of Tea, a black chawan (tea bowl) is prized above all others.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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