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."
Indeed, this is true for some items in the ceramic and tea worlds -- can there ever be any real improvement on a tea whisk? The simple beauty of form and materials has served us well; nothing new is needed here.
Yet Isezaki has also brought something fresh into the Bizen world by creating very sculptural forms that depart from his more traditional tea shapes. Examples of both styles of his work can be seen this month at an exhibition at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi's sixth-floor gallery that marks his 45th year as a Bizen potter.
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