Fascinated by the tasteful beauty of blown glass, glass artist Yuko Miura uses traditional techniques to create dishes for daily use. The vessels, designed with ease of use in mind, feel stable in one’s hands and stand dignifiedly on the dining table. Regardless of the genre of cuisine, such as Japanese or Western, or the occasion, she creates glassware that blends in with daily life based on the concept of “daily usable vessels.

Moved to the nature-rich northern part of Okayama Prefecture

Yuko Miura’s studio, Bamboo Glass, is located in a quiet mountainous area in Kagamino-cho, Tomada-gun, Okayama Prefecture. It is about an hour and a half drive from Okayama City and about 15 minutes to the border of Tottori Prefecture. Nearby are Okutsu Onsen, a hot spring representative of the Mimasaka region of Okayama Prefecture, and the scenic Okutsu Creek, an area blessed with abundant nature throughout the four seasons. Mr. Miura started his workshop here in 2014.

Producing tableware for daily use

Mr. Miura creates colorless clear and pale gray cups, wine glasses, plates, and bowls. Blown glass is a technique with a history of over 2,000 years. I am fascinated by the forms of vessels used by people in the past, so I study the history of blown glass carefully and try to create my own unique designs while considering how easy it is for people to use today.

Discovered blown glass while a university student

Mr. Miura was born in Osaka Prefecture. While a student at Kyoto University of Art and Design, he was exposed to a variety of crafts, including ceramics and woodworking, and was most attracted to glassworking. Wanting to pursue glassblowing even further, he took classes at “Glass Studio Aaty” in Kyoto City and gained experience in the art of glassblowing. He chose blown glass from among the many glass forming techniques because he is not good at sitting still, he says with a laugh.

That is probably why glassblowing, which requires physical exertion, suits him so well. When he actually tried it, he found the movement of the molten glass interesting, and he began to think, “I want to learn more about blown glass,” and “I want to handle glass in a soft state.

Blown glass is formed by winding high-temperature molten glass around a steel tube called a “blowpipe” and blowing air into it to make it expand like a balloon. It is possible to make glass thinner than that formed by fitting it into a mold, and the technique is said to have remained largely unchanged since ancient Roman times.

After graduating from university, she continued her studies at the Toyama Institute of Glass Art, where she learned basic glass theory, techniques, and the necessary sketches, as well as the know-how to become an independent glass artist. She moved to this area when her husband, Kazu, who was also a staff member, took a job at the “Fairy Forest Glass Art Museum” in Kagamino-cho, Tomata-gun, Okayama Prefecture.

Repeating the same thing over and over again does not produce the same thing.

She now has a studio in the corner of her house where she works alone. In his studio, there are two furnaces that he made himself according to the size of the vessels he makes. The furnaces for his work are heated to about 1,000 degrees Celsius. The furnace for melting and storing glass has a working temperature of approximately 1,180°C. This furnace is used to remove bubbles from the glass. This furnace is operated 24 hours a day to remove air bubbles from the glass so that it is ready to work the next morning. While surrounded by the heat generated by the two furnaces, he continues to make 20 to 30 cups from morning to night. He continues, “I never get tired of doing the same thing over and over again, day after day. That’s what’s so strange about it. I think I am making the same thing, but each finished product is somehow different. Maybe that’s why.”

He learned from looking at old glass, and in his own creations, he has arrived at his current style by devising shapes that are easy to wash and thicknesses that do not break easily. In addition, he mixes a small amount of iron and copper with glass to create a grayish color in order to bring out the atmosphere of old glass. The colors of these pieces are not too overpowering and blend in well with the tabletop.

One of his favorite glasses is a glass with legs, which was used in a popular French diner in the 20th century. It is what is called a “bistro glass,” a sturdy glass that can be handled roughly to some extent. He says, “I want to make something that is easy to pick up and has a simple, everyday quality, like this glass.

When he first started creating, he exhibited his work at craft fairs throughout Japan in order to make his creations known. He learned about the reaction to the vessels he made by talking with customers at “Craft Fair Matsumoto” in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, “Arts & Crafts Shizuoka Tezokuri Ichiba” in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and “Field of Crafts Kurashiki” in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. He learned that there were surprisingly few glassware that could be used for both Western and Japanese cuisine without interfering when placed alongside ceramics, and his theme of “glass that fits in with the dining table” became firmly established. Through word of mouth, the number of clients gradually increased.

An environment that connects work and daily life

Miura spends his evenings looking at old books on glassware that he collects at antiquarian book fairs and other places, and uses them as motivation for his work. For example, when I look at a photograph of Venetian glass from the 16th century, I am impressed by the effort of the craftsmen who worked hard to make it,” he says. I enjoy finding traces of their work, such as tool marks, and thinking about how they were made in my own way.

He says that his work and daily life are well connected in his current environment, where he can work freely and without restraint at the foot of the mountain. For example, sweeping up fallen leaves around the house in the morning is an important way to refresh himself before heading off to work. It allows him to enter the workshop with a refreshed feeling of nature. I want to continue living the way I do now,” he says. I want to continue my life in the future. Like the women who have made a living by weaving, I imagine that I am making things day in and day out in the mountains. Work is a part of my life,” she laughs.

Recently, she has decided to turn off the furnace during the warmer months of mid-July through August, so that she can spend her free time, which she has not had before, looking at glassware at museums and collecting glass artifacts. He believes that there must be more to glass than just looking at materials.

Since moving here, he has devoted himself to raising his children, and there was a time when he worked part-time. Even so, somewhere in the back of his mind, he always thought, “I will make blown glass again. Ms. Miura’s strength comes from the fact that she has never doubted her own desire to create. Finding inspiration in her daily life and being able to create is what gives her the greatest joy.

The post Glass artist with an everyday perspective, Yuko Miura, Bamboo Glass / Tomata-gun, Okayama, Japan first appeared on NIHONMONO.

~Woodworking born in snowy Niigata

Oguni Town in Nagaoka City, located in the south-central part of Niigata Prefecture, has abundant natural forests and deep snow in winter. Although the scenery is beautiful in all four seasons, the town is buried in snow until early spring, making it impossible to make a living unless the town’s residents are diligent in snow removal.

Mr. Tomii spent his childhood in Ojiya City, also in Niigata Prefecture, and studied abroad at a high school in Oregon, U.S.A., when he was a student at a technical college. In that land of abundant nature, he came into contact with a lifestyle that lived with trees. After attending a university in Japan and working on surface physics research at a graduate school, he was lured by the allure of wood into the world of woodworking.

He learned basic woodworking techniques at a workshop in Gifu Prefecture that trains woodworkers, and in 2008 he set up his own business in Kyoto. Then, in 2015, he put down roots in this snowy town. His reason for returning to his hometown of Niigata is simple. I want to make my work where there is snow.

~Unraveling the roots of his work

Tomii’s works are mainly tableware for daily use, such as plates and stacked boxes. The friendly and gentle expression of wood and the elegant and delicate appearance of his work have won him many fans. The reason for making his tableware is also simple.

Mr. Tomii has always loved to eat. When he lived alone as a student, he got hooked on cooking and began collecting cooking utensils for professional cooks. Eventually, he became particular about the dishes on which he served his food, and began collecting pottery made by artists. He likes the smooth surfaces of Scandinavian pottery, as well as heavy earthenware. He also likes wooden works from long ago, and he is a true lover of tableware, he says.

Tomii says that his interest in making things naturally led him to pottery making. The concept that forms the basis of his work is “to make things that become beautiful through continuous use” and “to make things that I want to use. I think the ideal relationship between the three elements of ‘material,’ ‘artist,’ and ‘user’ comes closer together as the user continues to use the vessel, and then they are condensed into a single piece, and that is beauty. I think that is beauty. When working with his hands, he is conscious of the “beautiful changes over time” that occur with daily use.

～The more you use it, the more it tastes good. Wooden vessels that blend in with everyday life.

Flat plates are especially popular among his works. They are easy to use and easy to serve food on. He often uses chestnut wood to make his dishes, which have a beautiful harmony of wood and lacquer. Considering actual use in daily life, plain wood has more flavor and charm when used. He likes the moderate feeling of chestnut wood. Indeed, chestnut wood is said to be popular among forest insects. He often finds insect bites on the wood, and he uses them as a part of the flavor of his works.

On the other hand, lacquer on the surface of a vessel has a characteristic that it does not change easily. The lacquer on the surface of the vessel can be colored to accentuate the tabletop. Wood itself is very beautiful,” he says. Of course, you can also enjoy playing with colors with colored lacquerware. I would like to convey the charm of such wooden vessels to people. I want to convey that kind of charm to people.

～I want to master beauty rather than efficiency.

At first glance, Mr. Tomii’s workshop looks like a furniture workshop. Mr. Tomii smiles, saying that it is a remnant of the time when he learned the basics of woodworking. Every piece is carefully made by hand. Instead of using a machine to make a large number of products at one time, he devotes himself to the steady, physical creation of his pieces and cherishes the products that result. This is Tomii’s way. He says, “If you adopt an efficient method, you may be able to finish your work quickly and beautifully, but I don’t think you should seek efficiency or beauty when you are doing this kind of work. Even if it takes longer, if I want the joy and happiness of making something, I’ll take that.”

～Individuality born of beauty guided by theory

Mr. Tomii’s creations have a unique worldview. When I was in graduate school, I was a physics major who studied the surfaces of materials. The beauty of the microscopic world he saw through a microscope at the time was indescribable. In my atelier, using a carving knife, I sometimes think about such a microscopic world, the arrangement of atoms, diversity, and various ideological worlds while carving detailed patterns on stacked boxes all day long. Perhaps it is in the process of immersing oneself in these worlds that the “individuality” that attracts people, which we call authorship, resides in the work.

Mr. Tomii aims to create products that become more beautiful when they are used with love and care. The touch of wood, the modesty that accompanies daily life, and the delicate and gentle appearance. We hope you will take a look and feel the splendor of his works, which are born from the rich natural environment and his unique world of contemplation.

The post Wooden tableware by Takashi Tomii from snow country that becomes more beautiful with continued use / Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Suda Jingka Kiln” of Kutani ware

Kutani ware was first produced in the early Edo period (1655-1868) when Maeda Toshiharu, the first lord of Daishoji Temple and a tea master, discovered ceramic stones used to make porcelain in a mine in his domain in Kutani (present-day Yamanaka Onsen Kutani-machi, Kaga City). By order of the domain, Saijiro Goto, who had learned pottery techniques in Arita, opened a kiln in Kutani Village, which became the production center of the ceramic stone, and the name “Kutani ware” was born.
However, several decades later, in the early 1700s, production ceased. There are no records of this period, and the cause remains a mystery to this day. The pieces fired during this period are later called “kokutani” and remain as masterpieces today, along with “aote,” a style of painting with an impressive array of green pigments, and “gosai te,” a painting technique that freely utilizes green, yellow, purple, dark blue, and red pigments, known as “kutani gozai. The first time the work was made was in 1914, about a hundred years ago.
About 100 years have passed since then. In the late Edo period, porcelain production resumed in Kanazawa and Komatsu, as well as Kutani and Yamashiro in the Daishoji clan, the birthplace of porcelain.
The Suda Seika Kiln in Kaga City was established in 1891 by Suda Seika I. In 1915, Kitaoji Rosanjin visited the kiln and was taught by Suda Seika I. It is said that Suda Seika I taught him how to make ceramics, and that this is what opened his eyes to the fascination of pottery making.

Introducing New Technology to Preserve Traditional Techniques

In a shopfront with a sense of history in the Yamashiro Onsen hot spring resort, there was a line of beautiful, yet somehow rustic, pottery.
Please take a closer look. Even dishes that look the same are different from one another. They may be slightly warped, blotchy, or have finger marks on them. It is more luxurious than something perfectly made, don’t you think? It is pleasant to use dishes that have a different flavor every day, ” says Suda Seika, the fourth generation of Suda Seika.
The fourth generation, who took over Suda Seika in 1981, continues to maintain the pottery techniques of the first generation.

Suda Keika, the fourth generation who took over the reins of Suda Keika in 1981, continues to preserve the pottery making techniques of his predecessor. All pottery is fired in a climbing kiln. We still use the same kiln that was used in the Meiji era. It softens the lines of the pottery,” says Suda.
There are some places that still use climbing kilns for ceramics, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a climbing kiln for porcelain. (Nakada) “Well, it’s not very stable (laughs). (Laughs) “Well, it is not stable (laughs), but there is no failure in pottery. Some people might say that distortion or blurring is a failure, but I don’t think so. Once a maker learns a little technique, he wants to make it look good. However, if a vessel looks like it was made by a machine, it looks fake. I think food tastes better when it is made by human hands,” he says.

The wood-fired climbing kilns burn for several days at times, and the smoke from the kilns has a large impact on the surrounding environment. The climbing kiln near the Suda Jinghua Kiln is covered by a building, and from the outside it does not look like one. There is a row of hot spring inns in the vicinity. …… We fire the kiln four times a year, and we have a special machine in the chimney that burns the smoke with gas so that there is no smoke.” In order to preserve the traditional techniques of pottery making, new smokeless technology is introduced as the times change. This balance between persistence and flexibility is what has spun the tradition of the famous kiln that has continued for more than 100 years. The fourth generation potter’s words resonated with me for some reason: “Even if something is warped or smudged, it is not a failure; it is more luxurious than something perfectly made.

The post Symbiosis of persistence and flexibility “Suda Jingka Kiln” 4th generation Suda Jingka / Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan first appeared on NIHONMONO.