A conversation with Masaru Okada

This time, we visited Okada Masaru's workshop and spoke to him.
[Okada] → Masaru Okada [Nishimura] → Ichimai Nishimura, Owner of Amagimichi

[Nishimura] Thank you very much. First of all, did your family do painting work?

[Okada] That's right. ──No, going back even further, it wasn't my grandfather who was originally from Ishikawa Prefecture, but my father. After the war, he trained in painting while visiting Kutani kilns in Ishikawa Prefecture. He continued painting there for a long time, and at that time, Tomimoto Kenkichi, who had been awarded the Order of Culture, was living in Ishikawa Prefecture, and young artists were gathering there. There were a lot of young people there, and my father was very inspired by them.

[Nishimura] So that's why people thought, "If you want to train, go to Kyoto."

[Okada] Yes. I decided that Kyoto was the place to be, so I moved there. I visited Mr. Tomimoto with my work, but I wasn't officially accepted as his apprentice; I just brought my work in occasionally and received advice. There are many painters in Kyoto who originated from Kutani.

[Nishimura] Kyoto was the capital, so there must have been a demand for it. Unlike Bizen and Hagi, where they dug up local soil and fired it in the same way, they bought the soil and made it to suit the tastes of aristocrats, tea masters, and merchants. This was the start of Kyoto ware.

[Okada] That's right. Many things began in places known as "hometown waters," such as Iwakura and Awataguchi, and even before that, in the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Sen no Rikyu had riverside craftsmen make Raku tea bowls. That led to the current Raku family. That's why, if you trace Kyoto's potters and shapers, you'll find that many of them were from Tamba and Seto. They flocked to the capital in search of good wages. There are still many people with surnames like Shimizu and Ichino, who came from Tamba, and Ito and Kato, who came from Seto, right?

[Nishimura] Indeed, there are many Ichinos in Tamba. It seems that many of the painting craftsmen also came to Kyoto via the Hokuriku Line.

[Okada] Yes. Every painter says, "My grandfather came from Ishikawa Prefecture." My father was the same; he came to Kyoto relying on distant relatives, who arranged for him to live and work.

[Nishimura] This is from your elementary school days, was Ikai your senior?

[Okada] He was a senior in the year above me in junior high school. Our junior high school area was between Shijo and Shichijo, from Higashiyama to Kamogawa, and Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Myoho-in Temple were also within that area. When we got to junior high school, everyone from that area would gather together.

[Nishimura] Were there many families with artisans? I get the impression that there were more families with family businesses than salaried employees.

[Okada] Of course, there were a lot of office workers, but the ratio of artisans was high. Nishijin was dyeing and weaving, and our area was pottery and folding fans. Fan ribs were dried in the square at Oji Shrine, and children would step on them and get scolded - that was the environment we were in.

[Nishimura] Before you went on to vocational school after high school, did you have any opportunities to come into contact with your father's work?

[Okada] Actually, my mother passed away when I was in the third grade of elementary school. My father worked from home, so I naturally had to help out. Most salaryman families would go to amusement parks on the weekends, but in our family we would go to art museums. I was looking forward to going out to eat, so I would tag along.

[Nishimura] It's great when parents and children go to art museums together.

[Okada] During this time, construction work was underway to close the tram line, and my father discovered a layer of clay beneath the granite paving stones. He sent me out to dig with a bucket, wondering why he was doing this, but he brought it home, crushed it, elutriated it, and made clay. Since he had the chance, he decided to try making a matcha bowl by hand.

[Nishimura] Did your father compliment the matcha bowl?

[Okada] My father would show his works to visitors and say, "My son made this," so the customers didn't criticize the work of a middle school student (laughs). Everyone praised him, saying, "That's interesting," and I was so happy that I started to think, "Maybe this job would be good for me."

[Nishimura] Did you attend the training school for one year?

[Okada] Yes, I went through a training school and a testing center before moving on to a mass production kiln. My master has poor eyesight, but his hands are incredibly fast. He makes 800 rice bowls and 300 teapots a day. He orders 180 to 220 teapots per kiln at once, so it's all about mass production. I learned the basics thoroughly.

[Nishimura] After that, he created many tableware pieces for Japanese restaurants.

[Okada] We make everything from flat plates, sashimi plates, and metalwork-style bowls. Rosanjin's pottery is expensive if broken, so we've been asked to make replacements, and we've delivered to places like Fukudaya in Kojimachi, Tokyo, Kikunoi in Kyoto, and Tamura in Tsukiji. We've also had a long-standing relationship with a pottery specialist in Gojozaka.

[Nishimura] However, I also want to make something bigger.

[Okada] Yes, when I'm turning on the potter's wheel I want to make something big, but it doesn't sell (laughs). I tried submitting my work to the National Traditional Crafts Exhibition and it was my first time being selected. My focus changed from "vessels that sell" to "works of self-expression." The second time I tried, I wasn't selected as easily, but in the meantime I discussed it with fellow artists and started thinking about "what I want to communicate through the shape."

[Nishimura] Why did you move to the Sumiyama area?

[Okada] In the 1960s, wood-fired kilns were banned in Kyoto City, and potteries with climbing kilns changed. Even if individuals could install electric or gas kilns, they needed land. It was impossible to buy land within Kyoto City, so everyone moved to Keihoku, Shiga, or Toganoo. At that time, the Sumiyama district spoke up and said, "If you come as a family, we'll give you some land and offer interest-free loans." More than 10 families moved, and I came with that group. There were 16 students in the entire elementary school.

[Okada] In the spring, we plant rice in the village's rice fields, and in the fall, we all cook and eat the harvested rice at a learning presentation. We pick tea leaves and make hand-rolled tea. The sports day wouldn't be complete unless we joined forces with the local community and participated in all events (laughs). Today, out of the village of around 120 households, over 40 are potters. It has become a major production area for Kyoto ware, alongside Shimizu and Higashiyama.

[Nishimura] Would you like to incorporate that warm scenery into your work?

[Okada] The river breeze in the valley, the overlapping mountain ridges, the flow of clouds - these are the shapes that are embodied in the Spiral Design series.

[Nishimura] Apparently that creamy white glaze was born from a mistake.

[Okada] The translucent glaze is cooled slowly to allow the crystals to grow, but if it is left for too long it becomes pure white. Oxidation firing creates a layer of crystals covering the surface, and the inside is glass. It's not a cold white, but a warm white. We also use a unique molding method in which the clay is pressed out while it is still soft. The soft clay is pressed hard on the potter's wheel to create lines, and gravity creates the surface. It has more movement than adding on or carving out. At first people said it was "troublesome," but the quality of the finished product improved.

[Nishimura] When did you start trying iron glaze?

[Okada] I started using Tenmoku-style iron glazes with a metallic sheen a little under 10 years ago. Regular Tenmoku ware produces droplet crystals, but I suppress the crystals to make the overall finish metallic in order to bring out the linear design. Since last year, I have also been working on the Harima Ginsai series, which depicts the sun and moon (sun and moon) in silver foil on a white glaze, and this was first shown at a solo exhibition at Hanshin Department Store. It will be exhibited at Nagoya Takashimaya, and this year at galleries in Yokohama and Nihonbashi.

[Nishimura] How do you control the temperature difference in large electric kilns?

[Okada] The thermometer measures at one point, so you adjust it by how you pack the piece. You create densely packed areas and open areas, and you also use different types of containers on the top and bottom. Experience is the only thing you can rely on.

[Nishimura] Do you have any plans for the future?

[Okada] I would like to create a white gradation by layering white glaze and white makeup, and an elegant piece that combines iron glaze with silver glaze. I would also like to further develop the Tomari Ginsai technique.

[Nishimura] I look forward to seeing your gratitude to the community sublimated into your work. Thank you for your time today.

[Okada] Thank you very much.