"I enjoy glassmaking the most," says Kiyoharu Matsuda, the master behind the Seiten studio. He started his apprenticeship in glassmaking at age 15, the day after graduating from junior high school. He says "the most" for a reason: During the nine years between ages 15 and 23, he experimented with some 26 different jobs.
"I tried my hand at pottery and carpentry, among other things. Having had a go at everything that looked like fun, I came back to glassmaking in the end, the craft I had started with. I built my studio with my own hands, so my carpentry training came in handy then," he says, smiling good-naturedly. For the 27 years since, he has never looked back from his decision to concentrate on glass.
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