Lee Love on wed 10 aug 05
John Baymore wrote:
>. but more like "Look to develop the future, not to staying
>stuck in the past."
>
>
John, I don't think this is really a problem for us
Americans. We usually try to skip the first part: The complete
digestion of a tradition, as Hamada recommended. When we don't have
a good foundation, our innovations lack legs.
>At the same time.... it is also a shame that there isn't still
>much "tradition" left in Mashiko....
>
What do you consider "Mashiko tradition"? Do yo mean the
crockery that was made before Hamada arrived, or do you mean the
tradition of functional ware created by Hamada, that never existed in
Mashiko previous to his arrival? Is it simply using Mashiko clay
and glazes? Firing noborigama? Depending one which you mean,
there is still a lot of it to be found here. The factories are still
pumping out crockery. The potters of the past would certainly approve
of the efficiency of the pottery factories. They make everything,
except for the large water and grain storage jars. Several people fire
climbing kilns too. And like you said, there are many people making
Hamada copies. There are also people who restrict themselves to
Mashiko clay and glazes. And you don't have to go far to escape
mainstreet. When you reach the mountains, it is easy to imagine you
are 200 years in the past, if you can ignore the telephone lines. ;-)
Next time you are here, we can go see some of it.
One of the big things that have replace Mashiko crockery is
modern work in the Wafu style (Japan style) that you see in the fashion
and archeticture magazines. Or brightly glaze things made in a very
simple manner. Often, with very stupid lumps for handles. The style
has to change from year to year. It is a consumer market . This is
what Young Tokyoites want in their rabbit hutch apartments. Young
people make this stuff and fill a market demand. It is pottery for
the New Era. A consumer product.
>You ALSO have to remember here that the Japanese looked down upon the
>Koreans....... and that could have colored Uchida-san's thoughts on the
>choice of words too. Cultural "norms" are easily ingrained and hard to
>break out of.
>
>
Yes. Japan tends to be insular. What is remarkable about
Hamada, Leach and Yanagi, is their ability to take in the work of all
cultures. In many ways, America suffers from the same problem. Not
because we live in an old and isolated culture, but because of our
material, political and military success, we seem to overlook the
importance of other cultures and how these influences have always
reinvigorated American culture. Of course, I am not talking about
folks like you John, but the way American culture as a whole, seems to
be sucking its head, legs and tail into its tortoise shell.
--
Lee
in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://hankos.blogspot.com/ Visual Bookmarks
"We can make our minds
so like still water
that beings gather about us
that they may see,...
....their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer,
perhaps even with a fiercer life
because of our quiet." -- W. B. Yeats
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