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November 22, 2024
 

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Robert Yellin
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jan 27, 2001
The art of appreciating ceramics
In pottery, as with life, sometimes the most basic questions are the most important: Why is this so? Or, how did this happen? Or, what does this part mean?
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jan 13, 2001
Pottery with a Korean foundation
A simple fact to begin the Ceramic Scene 21st century: Many great Japanese ceramic traditions of western Japan began with Korean potters.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 23, 2000
A life fired by devotion to ceramics
Many a foreign Japanese pottery scholar or collector owes a great debt to the life and work of Fujio Koyama (1900-1975). He wrote countless books and articles and some were fortunately translated into English; they are still a great source of knowledge and pleasure. These include the wonderful "The Heritage...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 9, 2000
The tiny treasures of Hikaru Shimamura
The great 20th-century Japanese potter Kanjiro Kawai (1890-1966) marveled at items that were small and most people overlooked: a stone, a leaf, a box of matches. He would toss them over and over again in his hands.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Nov 25, 2000
Jury is back on Mashiko exhibition
Mashiko is a name that many of you are familiar with, I'm sure. It is the name of a town in Tochigi Prefecture, as well as an internationally recognized pottery style made famous by the late Shoji Hamada. Today hundreds of potters reside there, and many come from around the world to study or pay their...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Nov 11, 2000
Bringing a new shine to old Kutani
When I first looked at the work of Yasokichi Tokuda III (b. 1933) I had to put on a pair of sunglasses -- I was almost blinded by the intensity of his kaleidoscopic Kutani porcelain.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Oct 28, 2000
Coal-crusted, ash-glazed, long-fired
From aspiring lawyer to automatic washing machine salesman to master potter, life has been an interesting but rocky road for Shigaraki ceramist Shiho Kanzaki.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Oct 14, 2000
Bringing simple beauty from the inside out
Hot fun in the summertime has slowly segued into the cool cultural events of autumn, which is popularly known as "bunka no kisetsu (the cultural season)." Autumn not only brings delightful weather but also a slew of exhibitions and festivals to keep anyone's schedule topped off. Rest your weary overworked...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Sep 23, 2000
Stopped in my flippin' tracks by a Shino tea bowl
I'm lucky enough to live only five minutes away from one of my favorite Mino potters -- and I don't even live near the Mino area. That's in Gifu Prefecture, whereas I reside in the potting wasteland of Numazu. I'm always asked about how I ended up here and I can only say that it was the will of something...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Sep 9, 2000
Putting no price on the beautiful
If all the pottery that I live with and use suddenly disappeared from my home, I would find myself quite blue. Those pieces, in their silent voices, spark my imagination and encourage me to live each day with grace and style; they are good friends. Someday I know I will have to part with them; that is...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 26, 2000
Magic of Momoyama Mino still shines across the years
Let's take a walk back in time, say to the 1570s. Not just any ol' hike through the woods, but a pilgrimage to the birthplace of some of Japan's greatest ceramic wares.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 12, 2000
Bringing out the flavor of the clay
Shuroku Harada is the consummate potter. First off, this highly successful ceramist doesn't put on any proud airs; he maintains a humbleness that is important when working with the earth. He shapes the clay and the clay has shaped him, so to speak, into what he is today; mutual respect at its best.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jul 22, 2000
When a woman tends the flame
Women potters have been on the move in recent years in Japan, which is quite a contrast to bygone days when they weren't even allowed near a kiln.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jul 8, 2000
Through the fires of experience to beauty
One afternoon a few months ago I had the pleasure of taking a visiting dignitary around Tokyo to view pottery. While we were riding around in his limousine and talking about Japanese pottery he said many times how sublime he thought it was.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jun 24, 2000
An unknown craftsman from Mashiko
Many of you are familiar with the name and works of Shoji Hamada (1894-1977), arguably the most widely famed of all Japanese potters. When he settled in the backwater potting town of Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, in Taisho 13 (1924), no one imagined that he would turn the conservative potters' world upside...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jun 10, 2000
The pure and silent voices of Shino
Shino pottery, so pure and calm, has since its birth in the late 16th century tugged at the heartstrings of the Japanese. A Shino chawan (tea bowl) figured prominently in Yasunari Kawabata's masterpiece novel, "A Thousand Cranes." There is a divine presence in the best of Shino wares. When one gazes...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 27, 2000
Sweet treats on a canvas of glaze
Though most of the world loves labels, it's hard to give one to the pottery of Norio Kamiya. Many collectors of Japanese pottery feel more comfortable if they know that this style is called Kutani or that one Arita or that this potter has won this award and exhibits at such-and-such gallery. Only after...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 13, 2000
Celebrating the cream of Japanese pottery
Believe it or not, a new museum has opened in Japan. In the midst of hearing about this or that institution shutting its doors for good it's refreshing to hear of one opening its doors for the first time, especially one entirely devoted to pottery.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 22, 2000
Inspiration that comes naturally
Nature, that miraculous giver of life, has been a source of inspiration for many Japanese artists, potters included, for many a century. Whether it be in floral motifs or the naturalness of their chosen materials or birds in flight, nature has played a conscious role in shaping the thoughts and vessels...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 8, 2000
Amber glow from the fires of Ohi
There are few glazes in Japan as captivating as Ohi-yaki's ame-yu. Its rich caramel color is most often seen on chawan (tea bowls) and mizusashi (water jars), and the depth and elegance of the hues draw the viewer into a very serene world.
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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