Russel Fouts on fri 23 oct 98
Sounds like an obvious question but Hamada and (i think) Yanagi spoke some
English.
Russel
Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
32 2 223 02 75
Http://users.skynet.be/russel.fouts
Http://www.japan-net.or.jp/~iwcat
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Pam Myam on sat 24 oct 98
In a message dated 10/23/98 8:57:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
russel.fouts@skynet.be writes:
> ounds like an obvious question but Hamada and (i think) Yanagi spoke some
> English.
>
> Russel
>
===
Russel,
I read Edmund de Waal's new book on Leach several months ago, and I think that
Leach did not speak Japanese very well, if at all. There is a review of the
book in this month's "Ceramics Art and Perception," and I think there might be
some reference in the review, but mine is on loan to a friend at the moment.
Pam
Dannon Rhudy on sat 24 oct 98
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
>Sounds like an obvious question but Hamada and (i think) Yanagi spoke some
>English.
>
>Russel
>
Hamada and most of the group he traveled with did speak English;
Hamada at least quite well (ref: Mel Jacobson's Hamada story). They
visited England often, when in London staying with Lucie Rie, (whose
furniture they invariably rearranged to suit their own tastes while
they were there.)
I don't know about Leach, but bet someone on the list does.
Dannon Rhudy
potter@koyote.com
Donna Nicholas on sat 24 oct 98
I met Leach in Japan in 1960. He spoke very little Japanese, only a few
words. His associates, Yanagi, Hamada, Tomimoto all could speak English.
Donna Nicholas
Prof T Yasuda on thu 29 oct 98
I met Bernard Leach first time in 1973 in St Ives. It was arranged by
Jannet when I visited her in the workshop. She said I should see him
because Bernard love to see Japanese, provably any Japanese. He invited
me for a lunch. Of course it was a Cornish Pasty, and very good one
indeed. He struggled to eat with knife and fork. It was not that he was
so used with chopsticks have forgotten how to use knife and fork, he was
already a blind man, well almost. We conversed in Japanese. Of course my
English was not excellent but above all he wanted to talk in Japanese.
The Japanese he spoke was unlike anything I ever came across, but I knew
what it was straight away. It was a genuine museum piece. The language
spoken by young intellectual of 1910-20 $B%f (Bs from upper to upper middle
class back ground in Tokyo area. Of course his accent have had frozen
there. Have not changed since. My be his Japanese was a touch too young
for him, but apart from that it suited his most English mannerism. I have
enjoyed listening to his Japanese more than that excellent Cornish Pasty.
Takeshi Yasuda
takeshi@dial.pipex.com
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