In memory of Haruzo Hayashiya

I had the privilege of having a very valuable relationship with Haruzo Hayashiya, and looking back, it always unfolded at Kakiden.

This is my fourth solo exhibition at Kakiden, but when my teacher walked around the venue for the first time, he gave me some harsh words: "Kohei, if you had the courage to break all the tea bowls lined up here, you could become a great ceramic artist." After that, he would often say, "Just break them!" and "Kohei, you don't understand," which was almost a daily occurrence.

However, despite his harsh words, he passionately explained the philosophy behind the tea bowl to me with more loving kindness than anyone else.

In the modern age, there must be a modern tea bowl.

This was the core philosophy of the professor, but he placed more emphasis on talent than on the technical skills of ceramic artists, and I think he saw the potential for contemporary tea bowls in the talent of object makers.

We are now in an era where almost all young ceramic artists make tea bowls, and this is undoubtedly due to the great contributions made by the master.

There is another tea master in the history of the tea ceremony who sought certainty of talent rather than technical skill in his craftsmen.

Rikyu undoubtedly intended to commission a tea bowl from a tableware craftsman, perhaps the two-colored lion sculpture. He happened to come across Chojiro's tile carvings and was astonished by his sculptural ability. Seeing the creative talent in a tile craftsman who lacked even pottery wheel skills, he commissioned him to make a tea bowl.

Actually, I'm worried that my intentions in creating the tea bowls might be going against Mr. Hayashiya's teachings.

My teacher disliked "copy" tea bowls, but within me, a growing desire to return to classical traditions, a feeling of freshness in old and distinctly Japanese things, has led me to deepen my efforts in creating tea bowls with the intention of creating "modern classicals."

I can almost hear the teacher's words, "Just break it!" from above, but I also feel like you might sympathize with my intentions.

Kouhei Nakamura