The art of making ceramics originated in Japan during prehistoric times, and over recent centuries has evolved to rank higher even than painting in the eyes of this country's connoisseurs. Most celebrated are the stonewares of ancient centers -- such as Tamba, Shigaraki, Bizen, Seto, Tokoname and Echizen -- that are prized for their robust shapes and the evocative, abstract quality of their surfaces. Fired in wood-burning kilns, the unexpected and seemingly haphazard quality of these majestic pots is often credited to the god of the kiln, who alone can make order from the crucible of white-hot flames and clouds of ash.
In practice it's not quite so simple, and even though benevolence is properly invoked with prayers and offerings, there is plenty of calculated tweaking -- the opening and closing of apertures to control oxygen levels, and adroit stoking for regulating temperature -- to help the deity work his magic. Clays and glazes, too, have to be carefully considered. Successful potters are known for keeping their formulas secret, handing them on only to a trusted successor. Brave is the foreign ceramic artist who comes here to study, and one can only admire those few who can navigate through this world of arcane tradition to the level of achieving their own independence and success.
For the first time in English, much has been de-mystified in this new book that explains in exhaustive detail the practical steps of making wood-fired ceramics. Readers can "learn the secrets of the masters!" claim the authors, and this is certainly accomplished. Written in collaboration by an experienced Japanese ceramic artist and an American professor of sculpture, the book combines a deep affection for the aesthetics of wood-fired ceramics with a common-sense, practical analysis of what is involved. Numerous specialist terms, such as kamazume (loading the kiln) and yohen (wood-fired surface effects), which once sent one scurrying for a dictionary, are not only clearly explained but illustrated in numerous color photographs. After reading only a few pages, this reviewer soon realized just how little he knew.