Ceramic art has spread to all parts of the world. After improvements in various countries, different pottery cultures have emerged. So, now let’s learn about Japan’s ceramic culture! The following is Japan’s modern ceramic culture that I have compiled for you. I hope it can help you.
A snapshot of Japanese modern ceramics
From March to April 1992, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom all over Japan in Fuso to the east. People sang and danced, immersed in admiring, singing and interacting with flowers. In the atmosphere of fun, the atmosphere of the festival is everywhere. In this beautiful season, the author conducted a visit whose main activity was to inspect Japanese modern ceramics.
In one month, the journey from Kagoshima on Kyushu Island in the south to Tokyo on Honshu was more than a thousand kilometers. Through Japan's Kagoshima, Saga, Nagasaki, Yamaguchi, Shiga, Okayama, Gifu, Kyoto, Nagoya and Tokyo's ten prefectures, prefectures and metropolitan areas, we visited and inspected ***52 units. These include 13 pottery kilns. I met many famous ceramic artists and learned about the creation and production status of modern Japanese ceramic artists. He also visited 5 ceramics research institutes and 7 large ceramics factories, and visited 8 ceramics museums, archives and ceramics cultural centers. These include the famous Kyoto, Tokyo National Museum, and Idemitsu Museum of Art. Five stores selling ceramic products were visited, including Seibu Department Store, one of the largest department store chains in Japan.
The most rewarding part of this trip was the opportunity to visit the famous ceramic production areas in Japan, including Karatsu ware, Ogi ware, Bizen ware, Shigaraki ware, Oribe ware, Kyo ware, Seto ware, We interviewed many famous ceramic artists in Japan's famous kilns of the past, such as Arita ware, Nabeshima ware, and Imari ware, and collected many precious information materials and ceramic works. These are very meaningful for studying the history and current situation of Japanese ceramics and pottery art. In particular, Japanese ceramic products have deeply penetrated into all aspects of the daily life of ordinary Japanese people. It promotes and develops with large-scale industrial production to achieve the perfect combination of traditional national ceramics and modern life. These situations can provide certain reference for how to preserve, develop and integrate my country's traditional ceramic products into people's daily lives. In view of this, the author has written down the harvest of this trip and published it in the journal "Ceramic Research".
1. Japanese pottery schools and ceramic artists
1.1 Karatsu ware and Mr. Takashi Nakazato
The famous Japanese movie star Nakano Ryoko talked about her love for cooking and When he was very interested in porcelain, Mr. Satato, a Karatsu-yaki pottery artist, said: "Food strengthens a person's body, and beautiful utensils give strength to the soul. Only by skillfully combining the two can one become an excellent housewife." ?Japanese potters closely combine pottery production with food and beautify the soul, vividly expressing the content of pottery culture. In terms of tea drinking utensils, Japanese tea drinkers have the following theories: One Raku, Two Ogi, and Three Karatsu.
People in the Kanto region of Japan are accustomed to calling pottery "Seto Mono", while people in Kansai call it "Karatsu Mono". This is because the main production area of ??Kansai porcelain is Karatsu. The place name Tangjin is due to the prosperous trade between this place and China in ancient times. "Tang" refers to China, and "Tianjin" refers to the port. Karatsu-yaki ancient kilns are located in the southwest of Saga Prefecture and northeast of Nagasaki Prefecture in Kyushu. Dangjin City currently has a population of 70,000, and there are about 60 ceramic artists engaged in ceramic art creation, most of whom are self-employed. Their products include daily necessities, furnishings and architectural ceramics.
The great development of Karatsuyaki began with the Bunroku and Keicho wars 400 years ago. At that time, the Japanese army failed to invade Korea and captured a large number of ceramic craftsmen (it is said to be nearly 10,000 people) when they retreated. These were robbed The Korean craftsmen promoted the development of Japanese pottery industry including Karatsu, so Japanese historians called this war the "Ceramic War".
Japanese ceramic culture was deeply influenced by China, but in specific aspects such as craftsmanship and technology, taking the "Ceramic War" as an opportunity, it was more influenced by North Korea. The foot-operated pottery wheel and conjoined dragon kiln used in Karatsu-yaki today were both inherited from North Korea.
The blanks used in Karatsu ware are clay containing sand, such as sail soil, Shiwu soil, etc. and some hard clay.
Glazes include earthen gray glaze, feldspar glaze, straw ash glaze, iron glaze and cinnabar glaze. There are many types of products, including bowls, plates, dishes, bowls, cups, wine bottles, tea cans, incense burners, etc. Decorative patterns include black flowers and prints. The black flower technique is called "Hui Tangjin", which is deeply influenced by the black flower technique on white ground of Cizhou Kiln in China. The bowls made by Karatsu-yaki products are extremely varied, including round, oval, gap-shaped, bamboo-shaped, wheel-shaped and cross-shaped. As a faction of Karatsu-yaki pottery that has been passed down to this day, the Nakazato family has been a pottery family for 13 generations. The 12th generation Nakazato Muan was awarded the honorary title of "National Treasure of the World" at the national level. He himself has a two-story ceramics exhibition hall, displaying ancient Karatsu works and porcelain pieces, as well as dozens of modern ceramics. His three sons also inherited the ceramics career and were active in the Japanese ceramics world as famous ceramicists.
Mr. Takashi Satoshi, a 53-year-old ceramic artist, was influenced by his father and studied pottery since he was a child. He founded Tatsuya Kiln 20 years ago. The name of the kiln was inscribed by Fujio Koyama, a famous authority on ancient ceramics. Nakato Takashi loves ancient Chinese ceramics. He had previously visited Longquan kiln, Cizhou kiln and other places, and invited the author and three other people to Japan for an exclusive interview. His kiln was built in a quiet valley far away from the city, surrounded by green trees, and gurgling spring water flowed in front of the pottery house. There are orange trees planted around the pottery house, covered with golden fruits. The Deng Kiln built on the hillside is hidden among the green trees. The entire pottery house looks like a unique garden-style building.
Mr. Nakazato Takashi has a unique outlook on life and way of life. He has a long beard and simple clothes. He is not only good at pottery, but also studies cooking. He believes that since pottery is used in people's daily eating and drinking lives, people who don't know how to cook cannot become good pottery artists. The ceramic utensils used on his tableware are all pottery made by himself, mostly white pottery and black flowers, but not a single modern craft product.
Mr. Nakazato’s ceramic art enjoys a high reputation in Japan. In the past few years, he went to the United States as a representative of Karatsu ware to hold ceramic art exhibitions and academic lectures. American potters who admired him came to his kiln for the first time to communicate. As a guest from China, the author had the honor to visit his Longtai kiln and stay for several days. He conducted careful inspection and obtained a lot of first-hand information.
Nakazato’s ceramic works are full of a vigorous and rough atmosphere, which also expresses the author’s bohemian creative style. In Japan, if their ceramic works have no obvious style or follow the trend, such a ceramic artist cannot survive. The price of bowls and plates created by Nakazato Takashi generally ranges from 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 yen per piece, which is very expensive for daily utensils. The more expensive ones are ceramic displaywares, such as bottles, altars, etc., with prices ranging from 700,000 to 800,000 yen. His highest price ever was sold for 2 million yen, which is about 100,000 yuan at the current exchange rate between RMB and Japanese yen. Takashi Nakasato believes that Karatsu-style pottery works should retain the original earthiness of the raw materials and the fire of the kiln fire as much as possible, and add as little artificial decoration and carving as possible. Too much decoration will be unsightly and cannot become real art. Commenting on fashion models and actors, he believes that it is not advisable to wear too much makeup, as wearing makeup will make them look less beautiful. European women are not beautiful, they wear makeup just to be beautiful. They can't compare to Chinese women who are beautiful without makeup. If you put on too much makeup, you will look unattractive. These views of his are deeply reflected in the meaning of his works.
The works of Karatsu-yaki mainly include (1) Fenbiki, that is, pottery with white makeup; (2) painted Karatsu: pottery without white makeup painted black flower patterns, black flowers on gray ground ; (3) Tangjin Nanman: unglazed pottery, the body color is gray and black; (4) Korean Tangjin: a layer of white clay is applied on the body color, the glaze is pink, and black flowers are painted under the glaze; (5 ) Brush pattern: The work is painted with white makeup to create a brush pattern, which is rough and powerful; (6) Carved Mishima: gray glaze printing. Many of the above techniques are influenced by the decorative techniques of famous ancient Chinese kilns such as Cizhou Kiln.
As a famous kiln series in the Kyushu region of Japan, Karatsu ware is still an important school in the modern Japanese ceramics art world, driven by the active promotion of Nakatoshi potters.
1.2 Arita Yaki and Kakiemon (Nabeshima Yaki)
Arita Town is the porcelain capital of Japan, located at the northern end of Kyushu Island, Japan. This is a town that thrives on the production of fine porcelain. Up town. The highway leading to Arita Town passes through three tunnels. The names of the tunnels are "White Porcelain", "Qinghua" (meaning blue and white porcelain), and "Aka-e" (meaning red and green porcelain). This practice of using the names of precious and famous porcelain as the name of the tunnel immediately brings people into the Japanese porcelain capital with a strong ceramic atmosphere. There is also a bridge in the town with a long history. On the railings on both sides of the bridge are pieces of colorful porcelain vases with gorgeous decorations, which are covered in glass covers. People say that there are more than 40 magnificent porcelain shops selling various porcelain products in this small Arita town. Currently, Arita Town has about 250 workshop-style ceramics factories, many of which retain their appearance hundreds of years ago.
The development of Arita Town is closely related to Japanese porcelain. Lee Sampyeong, a Korean ceramics craftsman who was kidnapped from North Korea more than 400 years ago, discovered the raw material for making porcelain, Izumiyama stone, here, thus starting the history of Japanese porcelain. There is a monument to Li Canping's discovery of magnetite. The Japanese worship Li Canping as the ancestor of magnetism. Since then, after more than 100 years of development, Kyushu's porcelain has been continuously exported to European countries. At that time, when China's Ming and Qing dynasties overlapped, the severe economic damage caused by successive wars weakened the dominance of Chinese porcelain in the world market. The Japanese took advantage of this opportunity to continuously absorb the essence of Chinese porcelain art. They first imitated and then replaced, gradually replacing the number one position of Chinese porcelain. We can clearly see this trajectory from the works exhibited at the Sino-Japanese Ceramics Cultural Exchange Exhibition jointly organized by the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Idemitsu Museum of Art in Japan in the 1990s. Many Japanese porcelains imitate China's Jingdezhen with an astonishing degree of realism. At that time, Japanese Arita porcelain was exported in large quantities through Ivan Port, so it was also called Imari porcelain.
To this day, Arita Town is still the city with the highest concentration of ceramics production and trade in southern Japan. There are many porcelain shops here with many brands, various attractive signboards, and ancient buildings of varying heights along the streets. , the atmosphere of ceramic culture is everywhere, showing the style of the porcelain capital. The author once saw a sign with "Cizhou Kiln" written in large letters. It turned out that a porcelain store borrowed "Cizhou Kiln" as the name of its store. I couldn't help but ask Mr. Nakazato to stop the car and clicked the camera button in the drizzle.
We also visited the Arita Town Ceramics Group Kiln Industry Association. There are 10 small joint-stock ceramics factories that cooperate with each other, mainly producing daily-use porcelain. They use three kilns at the same time to bake Modern daily-use porcelain products with different styles from color baking. According to the boss, in order to survive and develop in the fiercely competitive ceramic market, they can only use the power of small groups to voluntarily form and cooperate with each other. However, the products of each of their factories are different. It has a unique style, and the economic aspects are also very detailed. The products are mostly shaped like flowers and leaves that imitate plants, and are molded by pressure grouting. The output of each product is small and production changes frequently.
The Imemon family (Nabeshima ware) is mainly characterized by the production of traditional red and green painted porcelain. It has been passed down to thirteen generations of descendants. Imemon Zensho was born in 1926. He graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1949 and later returned to his hometown to inherit his family business. As a traditional painted pottery craftsman, he has participated in various exhibitions many times and launched many innovative works. In 1975, he inherited the title of Thirteenth Generation Imemon. In 1976, the "Sekunabeshima Imemon Technology Preservation Association" was established and received the title of Japan's "Comprehensive Designation of Important Intangible Cultural Properties". He studied painting techniques intensively and developed techniques such as blue and white ink blowing and thin ink blowing. He has successively won the Western Japan Culture Award, the Mainichi Culture Award, the Purple Ribbon Medal, and the Gold Medal of the Japan Ceramics Association. In 1989, he researched new color-painted porcelain techniques and established new color-painted expressions through a combination of excellent techniques and craftsmanship. He was awarded the title of "Living National Treasure" as the holder of Japan's important cultural property "Color-painted Porcelain".
The author visited his collection of works displayed on two floors. The development of Japanese colored porcelain and its sales process in the world over the past hundreds of years are clear and can be seen at a glance. I also visited his workshop.
In a simple old-fashioned wooden building, many old men and women painting artists were sitting in rows, concentrating on painting porcelain. While listening to Japanese operas or smoking cigarettes, they worked unhurriedly and leisurely, as if they were very leisurely. This is true to the lingo of the so-called "slow work, careful work". We also saw that the exquisite porcelain painting skills have been well preserved and developed here.
1.3 Ogiyaki and local potters
Ogi City is located in the western coastal area of ??Yamaguchi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. This is a seaside city. In the third year of Keicho period in Japan, Korean potters Li Yunguang and brothers Li Jing came here to make pottery, which they called ancient Ogiware. During the Kanbun period, ceramics started to be fired in Sanwaunxue, which was also called Hon Ogi ware. Ogi City has been home to outstanding people since ancient times. Five Japanese prime ministers were born here, such as Ito Eisaku, Tanaka Kakuei, etc.
Ogiyaki currently has about 50 potters and 150 other potters. There are currently 28 kilns (including 3 in Yamaguchi City and 5 in Nagato City). All products are sold domestically, of which 50% are daily-use ceramics, 45% are tea ceremony utensils, and 5% are art ceramics. The characteristic of Ogi-yaki products is that the clay material is soft and has a warm tone after firing. The glaze color on the surface of the vessel changes in the kiln and becomes red, sometimes green or yellow.
Ogiyaki pottery artist Mr. Yoshiga Omei established a mysterious and solemn artistic glaze style by combining the traditional white Ogi glaze and black glaze in the kiln. He mainly produces vases, as well as tea cups, kettles, flower arrangements, incense burners and other ceramic products. His works have won titles such as the Cabinet Minister's Award, the Japan Academy of Arts Award, and the Ceramics Association's Gold Medal.
Mr. Hatano Zenzo’s Ogiyaki works mainly include tea cups, pitchers, tea cans, flower arrangements, bowls, etc. His works inherit the tradition of 300 years ago, and are antique and unique. Recently, he took out a loan to purchase land in the suburbs to build a kiln, because the local government does not allow slightly polluting ceramic kilns to be built in the city. His ceramic creations and career seemed to show great promise.
Sanlunlongzuo is a modern ceramic artist, and its products are mainly modern abstract sculptures. Regarding his situation, the author once introduced it in the article "Japanese Modern Ceramic Artist Miwa Ryu Makes His Own Works" published in the 1991.6 issue of the "Arts and Crafts Reference Materials" of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts in Beijing. In recent years, he has created a series of ceramic works such as "Hakurei Exhibition" and "Golden Somihu Exhibition" based on the theme of Japanese history initiated by the female Japanese king Himiko (which can be seen in China's "Three Kingdoms" records), to express The rise, decline and development of Japan's economic and cultural history. Under the enthusiastic recommendation of Mr. Takashi Nakazato, the author took the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview. He seemed to have a deep affection and admiration for the splendid culture of ancient China. He also talked about films directed by Zhang Yimou such as "Red Sorghum" and "Ju Dou". The author visited his ceramic works, which are called modern surrealism. His high evaluation of the profound Chinese culture and his prediction of the re-emergence of Chinese ceramic art in the future left a deep impact on the author.
1.4 Bizen-yaki
Bizen-yaki is located in Bizen Town, Waiki-gun, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The characteristic of Bizen-yaki pottery products is that the products are not glazed or painted, and are created solely by the changing shapes of the clay itself, and also by the changes in the kiln fire. It directly expresses the art of earth and fire. A piece of clay is kneaded into a clay body by hand and for a long time, and then fired at a temperature of more than a thousand degrees. It undergoes various changes in the kiln fire to form a natural shape. Many people say that Bizen-yaki works are a world formed by the combination of nature and people.
Bizen ware has a long history, and Sueware pottery has been produced here since the Kofun period of Japan. During the Heian-Kamakura period, daily necessities such as bowls, plates, dishes and tiles began to be produced. During the Kamakura-Muromachi period, pots, bowls, etc. were mass-produced. By this time, Bizen-yaki products had developed their unique brownish-red color. In the later period of Muromachi, field soil was used as raw material instead of mountain soil, hand-drawn blanks were used to achieve mass production, and semi-above-ground kilns were used.
Mr. Totake Mori is a representative Bizen-yaki pottery artist. His creative philosophy is that the works he creates are all in his own thoughts and are produced by the shaking of his thoughts.
?He is good at using creative techniques to make the shape of the vessel as if it is made of several large geometric bodies bonded together. The types include black porcelain, white porcelain flat pots, multi-faceted pots and striped pots. The shape of the device is simple, but it is full of variety and power. He fired it in a dragon kiln, which was 25 meters long. In order to study the firing technology of this special long dragon kiln, he once told the author that he wanted to inspect the traditional dragon kiln in southern China.
1.5 Shigaraki ware and its potters
Shigaraki ware is located in Shiga Prefecture. It is one of the six ancient kilns in Japan and is also an area where modern ceramic crafts are developed. In recent years, Shiga Prefecture has developed tourism and cultural industries with Shigaraki Pottery as the leader. For example, they built the "World Ceramics Forest" park covering a large area, and established Shigaraki as an "International Craft City" and "Ceramics City" by holding the annual World Ceramics Festival, all of which created a very There is a strong atmosphere of promoting the county through pottery.
The World Ceramics Forest has several parts including creation, exhibition, production and training. A modern ceramics museum is generally a building with a dome, which displays selected works by modern ceramicists from the United States, Japan, Australia and many other countries. The expression methods and contents of these ceramic works are very unique, and their intentions are very bold. In many aspects, It has overcome people's concept of pottery in the past, but is a pottery work that is closely linked to modern Western art trends. The enthusiastic tour guide presented us with many modern ceramic art collections and other materials. From here we can see the various forms and evolution processes of modern ceramic art in its development.
Red, green and yellow balls. To people who don't understand the creative idea, it looks like pieces of electronic circuit boards. He himself said that these red, yellow and green crossed little balls are the mandolin flower in Buddhism, which represents the influence of ancient Buddhist culture on Japan. He believes that the Hinayana and Esoteric sects of Buddhism have the greatest influence on Japan. His ceramic works use such expressive themes in order to constantly remind people not to forget ancient culture and history.
He said that at a time when many young people in Japan blindly worship Western culture and pursue Western culture and art, he wants to sound a warning to people from the perspective of reflecting religious themes. Of course, the rebellious emotions and thoughts and feelings he expressed may still be difficult for people to understand for a while, but he still did not lose heart and went on tenaciously. Of course, it is difficult to sell such pure ceramic products with no use value, especially in Japan. His expression seemed a little sad when he said these words. On the contrary, some people in Europe like his works very much and have purchased his things. In addition, Kubo Sasayama also applied this expressive theme with a strong religious style to the creation of large-scale ceramic screens, and began to open up sales.
1.6 Oribe Ware and Takiguchi Kiheiji
Mr. Fujio Oyama, a famous Japanese expert on ancient ceramics, once commented that when Japan was developing modernization, it did not abandon its traditions; It is a clever combination of traditional culture and modern culture. Mr. Takiguchi Kiheiji is a ceramic artist famous for his Oribe-yaki works.
He is originally from Tokyo, the capital. In order to establish a ceramics career 30 years ago, he bid farewell to the bustling Tokyo and came to a valley alone in Kani City, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, where he began to create ceramics. When he first came here, he was the only one here with one house and one kiln. There were many fish in the mountain rivers that flowed away, and they could be brought for food at any time. Whenever I dine by the river, the fish automatically gather around me, which is very interesting. The beautiful natural scenery and the quiet environment almost isolated from people provided him with a good atmosphere for ceramic creation. His pottery house is located next to a clear stream at the foot of the mountain. The cave kiln is built on the mountainside with a very steep slope. With the cleverly stacked piles of pine firewood, it looks like a hunter's cabin hanging on the mountainside. Whenever the molding, glazing, painting and other processes were completed, he would often hold the semi-finished products filled with laths in his hands alone and climb the steep path to the pottery kiln halfway up the mountain to install and bake the pottery.
Mr. Takiguchi’s ceramic works mainly include Oribe green-glazed fan-shaped dish plates and Oribe-yaki tea bowls.
Oribe green glaze is fired with oxidation flame. Oribe black glaze is made of ghost board (natural mineral pigment containing iron oxide at 60%) 50%, plus wood ash 50% to make black glaze. It is fired in the kiln with a reducing flame. When the optimal temperature is 1250 degrees, the black glaze is fired with iron tongs. Quickly take the products one by one out of the open kiln wall and place them in the water. This will give you a pure flame reduction effect, and the black glaze will be extremely dark and shiny. It is said that this technique of burning black glaze is currently reserved only in Japan. The Oribe black tea bowl is hand-drawn and molded, and its shapes are rich in changes. However, it does not pursue perfection, but leaves obvious traces of hand-making. Sometimes black, green, brown and other patterns are painted on the black glaze opening. Recently, he has successfully developed a black glaze red spot decoration method, which has a more unique artistic expression style. The pottery wheel used by Mr. Takiguchi to draw the clay is a hand-operated pottery wheel. The diameter of the wooden pottery wheel is 56.5 cm, and the length of the wooden stick is 20 cm. There is a large stone on the floor of the pottery room for use in repairing the pottery. There is a proverb in Japan called "Three years on a stone", which means that to learn a skill, you must practice hard and sit on a stone for three years. He does have a spirit of practicing hard for ceramic creation. When we appreciate the high artistic beauty achieved by Japanese pottery, we must know that countless potters can achieve it with such meticulous practice and hard work. There is no "artistic inspiration" here.
Takiguchi Mr. Mr.'s ceramic works are well-known in China and he has held personal ceramic exhibitions in Gifu Prefecture, Tokyo and Kyoto. In 1971, he was invited to Marlboro, Baltimore, USA to provide technical instruction, thus successfully introducing Japanese culture, including the representative Oribe pottery art, to the international community.
1.7 Kyo-yaki and ceramic artist Morioka Yoshiaki
Mr. Morioka Yoshiaki said that his generation already has three generations of ceramics family. Morioka's kiln is on a hillside on the outskirts of Kyoto's Higashiyama district. His ceramic products highlight the word "博". In addition to producing traditional Japanese pottery, he also produces Korean-style carved Mishima, brush pattern and three-color glaze. In recent years, he has become very interested in China's Cizhou kiln and Jun kiln. Mr. Morioka is also an old friend of the author. He came to Cizhou Kiln three times for technical exchanges from 1984 to 1985. I feel particularly happy to meet this old friend again.
Morioka’s kiln is equipped with relatively modern smoke and dust removal equipment, which costs tens of millions of yen. As a famous cultural tourism city in Japan, Kyoto Prefecture does not allow pottery kilns to emit any pollution, so the kilns have been relocated to the outskirts and must install environmental protection devices. Morioka usually makes the blanks, glazes, and paints them in a pottery house (also a showroom) in the city, and then transports them to a kiln in the suburbs for firing. In recent years, his second daughter has learned to draw billets. Although his son has not graduated from high school, he still helps out at the kiln during holidays. After graduating from the Chinese Department of Daban University, his eldest daughter worked as an employee in a company. In her spare time, she worked as an interpreter for her father and participated in ceramic cultural exchanges between Japan and China. Mr. Morioka loves Chinese ceramic culture and has expressed many times that he wants to learn more from this ancestor of Chinese ceramics. His collection room contains many pieces of ancient Chinese ceramics. He usually studies them carefully, learns the techniques and tries his best to understand the spirit and temperament of ancient Chinese ceramics.
Mrs. Morioka is in charge of the entire financial revenue and expenditure of the pottery kiln, and the same is true for ordinary Japanese families. In their words, it is called "men rule the world, and women control men." The couple often laments Japan's heavy taxes. Although they work hard all year round, a large part of their income is paid in various taxes. In particular, inheritance taxes in Japan are very heavy. After the death of the older generation of potters, half of the property left by the uprising had to be handed over to the state as inheritance tax. By the time the grandson takes over, there will be very little property left, and there is a saying that one will not be rich for more than three generations. Therefore, as descendants, it is impossible to rest on the property of our ancestors and enjoy everything. Only through constant struggle can we survive. Their words made the author realize another aspect of the life of Japanese potters.
Inspiration from Japanese ceramic art
Ceramic art has two major sources in the world, one is China and the other is West Asia. Ancient Chinese civilization has become the origin of the culture of surrounding countries. China, North Korea, and Japan, which are dominated by China, together constitute the East Asian cultural area. The origin of Japanese ceramics is in China.
In Japan, ceramic works are completed independently by individual potters, from drawing with a windlass, painting and decoration to firing in the kiln. Most potters are not only proficient in pottery, but also in literature, calligraphy, painting, etc. Therefore, ceramics is regarded as an art in Japan. Japanese potters believe that it is the elegance of personality that distinguishes a true potter from one who merely makes pottery. The potter must experience and discern music, painting, literature and philosophy. Only by absorbing these things can he infuse power and personality into the things he makes from clay.
Understanding the current status of Japanese ceramic art is a summary of the learning process. How to apply the learned knowledge in practical creation, how to firmly find ourselves in the complicated modern ceramic art creation, and steadily find our own ceramic path? The creative spirit of Japanese potters learning and integrating foreign cultures is of great significance to us Junci’s future artistic creation is a profound inspiration.