A conversation with Kotaro Ikura

[Ikura] → Mr. Kotaro Ikura
[Nishimura] → Nishimura Ichimai (Owner of Amakido)

[Nishimura] The area of ​​Yagyu is known as the home of famous swordsmen such as Yagyu Jubei, but what kind of place is it specifically?

[Ikura] Yagyu is the home of a family of swordsmanship instructors with a 600-year history dating back to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Yamaoka Sohachi purchased the former residence of a chief retainer and wrote "Spring Slope." This work is based on historical facts, and Nakamura Kinnosuke plays the role of Yagyu Tajima no Kami Munenori, who served three Tokugawa shoguns, Ieyasu, Hidetada, and Iemitsu, and served as a military instructor.

[Nishimura] It's very interesting that it was written in this place.

[Ikura] That's right. The Yagyu Shinkage-ryu school placed importance on the sword that saves people's lives, not the sword that kills. It aimed to win without fighting, in other words, to calm people's minds and avoid conflict. It placed emphasis on peaceful resolution, for example by instructing those who bore arms to always keep their swords on their right side and not to draw them easily. It made a great contribution to maintaining peace under the Tokugawa Shogunate.

[Nishimura] On the way here by bus, I saw the word "ninja." What is the relationship between Yagyu and ninja?

[Ikura] When it comes to ninjas, Iga and Koga are famous, but Yagyu is a swordsman. Swordsmanship and ninjutsu are different things.

[Nishimura] I see. You were born and raised in a place with such a history, and you went to Osaka University of Arts. Your father is a ceramic artist, so did you learn anything from him before you enrolled?

[Ikura] I never helped my father with his work, and when I was in elementary school, I said I wanted to use the potter's wheel, and he told me, "Just sit down and have a look."

[Nishimura] It makes me want to do it.

[Ikura] When I got a little older and was in the fifth grade of elementary school, I said I wanted to do it, and again I was told, "You should keep watching," and "You should see for yourself."

[Nishimura] I think it's strange that they don't let you touch it.

[Ikura] So, even when I went to middle school and high school, I was told to just watch, so I never touched soil until I entered university.

[Nishimura] That's amazing. What happened after you entered university? By the way, were you living in a boarding house?

[Ikura] I went there every day.

[Nishimura] It seems quite far away, but

[Ikura] It takes two hours. I had a pottery department. It was just a hobby for first-year students, but it was fun when I actually tried it. In my second year, I met a porcelain teacher. His name was Fujiwara Tsunenori, who was the last student of Tomimoto Kenkichi. He made white porcelain. For me, pottery is made of earthenware, so I was surprised when I saw the porcelain clay. I didn't know there was something so beautiful. It was pure white, and the way it was made on the potter's wheel was beautiful. And the works were beautiful too. I was surprised when I saw it for the first time, and I thought I wanted to do that too.

[Nishimura] So the direction was decided at that point?

[Ikura] It's not that, but it was when I started working with porcelain clay that I first began to think that pottery was interesting.

[Nishimura] Can porcelain clay be produced in this Yagyu area?

[Ikura] It is not possible to obtain porcelain clay. The porcelain clay I use is an original clay made by mixing various ingredients.

[Nishimura] First of all, there are celadon and white porcelain, so what kind of pottery is the celadon and white porcelain that is produced?

[Ikura] It's somewhere between celadon and white porcelain. I first wanted to do that when I was a third-year student at university, and the Osaka Museum of Oriental Ceramics was holding an exhibition of past Living National Treasures. There, they had a work by Kaiji Tsukamoto called a ring flower pot. When I saw it, the atmosphere in that place had changed.

[Nishimura] Did that work have a special aura?

[Ikura] No, it wasn't that there was an aura, but rather that the atmosphere was different.

[Nishimura] That's amazing.

[Ikura] When I saw it, it was the best. So I wanted to make a work like that. That was the first time I felt the meaning of becoming a ceramic artist. Pottery can change the atmosphere so much. If I'm going to do it, I have to make something like this, this is the kind of job I can do to change the atmosphere, and that's how I started to think about being a ceramic artist.

[Nishimura] A vase can have a strong presence even without flowers. If there is a matcha bowl on a tatami mat, the atmosphere changes. Does the size of the piece matter for white porcelain?

[Ikura] Size doesn't matter. There are small pieces that can change the atmosphere. It doesn't matter if they are objects or vessels.

[Nishimura] I see. Some pieces feel large when you hold them, so the size of pottery is a difficult issue.

[Ikura] The reason why I don't make many objects is because my porcelain teacher told me that the greatest feature of pottery is that it is "good to look at, good to touch, and good to use."

[Nishimura] The last point, "practical use/use," is important.

[Ikura] That's right. Craftworks can be used. Objects can't be used. Many objects can't be touched. When we pursued the idea of ​​"good to look at, good to touch, good to use," it naturally became a part of craftworks.

[Nishimura] It's important to keep using it. I think one of the good things about it is that it feels familiar to your hand. Maybe porcelain doesn't feel familiar to your hand that much.

[Ikura] White porcelain does not change over time.

[Nishimura] The ones from the Southern Song Dynasty haven't changed either.

[Ikura] That is one of the characteristics of porcelain clay.

[Nishimura] The defining feature of porcelain clay is that it maintains its beauty for a long time after it is made. In the past, it was presented to the emperor, and I think that its perfect precision gave it eternal beauty. Is the Hotarute technique difficult, considering how intricate the technique is?

[Ikura] In terms of difficulty, they are all difficult. Hotarude has a strong impact, so it is difficult to decide how to present it. Also, the shapes that can be made are limited. I didn't start making Hotarude because I wanted to do it. I have become able to fire the blue-and-white porcelain beautifully the way I want it to be, and the transparency and perfection have improved. Hotarude has parts that are just glaze, so it is easy to see the transparency and beauty of the blue-and-white porcelain glaze. Making it has given me more opportunities to have a variety of people see it.

[Nishimura] What do you mean by technically difficult?

[Ikura] I think pottery and manufacturing are difficult. But with blue-and-white porcelain, mistakes are easy for anyone to see.

[Nishimura] So that means there's no room for cheating?

[Ikura] That's right. The mistakes are obvious and easy to see. You can see the iron flying. It can crack or lose its shape. It's difficult to make blue-and-white porcelain because you have to push the limits.

[Nishimura] Are there any directions you would like to pursue in the future?

[Ikura] Yes, that's right. I've always found pale blue porcelain beautiful and I never tire of it. I put mud on it to create patterns. I make vases and plates using deformations. The clay and glaze are coming out really nicely. It's important to imitate, but as with any ceramist, pale blue porcelain has a long history, so it's difficult to express individuality. I want to make more beautiful pale blue porcelain that is unique to me. I want to make beautiful things that are unique to me.

 

Kotaro Ikura – Pottery specialty store [Amagi-michi]