Tea bowl with a picture

Last year, at Ms. Anjiki's solo exhibition, there was a tea bowl with paintings on both the bowl and the box. The painting had an elegant taste that was typical of Ms. Anjiki, and I found it interesting that the paintings were not only on the bowl but also on the box, so I immediately told Ms. Yasuda at Kakiden Gallery, and we have now roughly decided on the dates for this exhibition.

My only request to him was for a tea bowl that would allow me to enjoy drinking a bowl of thin matcha tea. Soon after, Mr. Anjiki secluded himself in his workshop in Izumo village and diligently prepared the clay and began creating the tea bowls with painted designs.

However, although he seemed to think it would be easy, it turned out that enjoying tea in a completely enjoyable way was more difficult than he had imagined, and what he showed me along the way was still far from perfect.

And so, over the next few months, he continues to create with all his heart and soul.

Each and every piece is a tea bowl by Hiro Ajiki , and I am eagerly awaiting the opening day of the exhibition, hoping that they will captivate people's hearts.

       Haruzo Hayashiya

This tea bowl exhibition might be a thoughtful strategy by Professor Hayashiya. I first met him about 25 years ago at a tea ceremony art exhibition at the Tabe Museum in Matsue, when he said, "This water container's knob is interesting, let's give the grand prize to the knob..." and we've known each other ever since.

Every time we met, I was told, "Put more thought and feeling into your work." I became a little stubborn about it, and from then on, I decided to focus solely on making tea bowls.

At my solo exhibition last year, the teacher unexpectedly came and, instead of buying the black salt-glazed bowls or Basara bowls that I put the most effort into, purchased one of the painted tea bowls that I had placed near the entrance as a kind of light service item, saying, "This is nice." And so, the idea of holding a solo exhibition just for this tea bowl came about, which led to this exhibition. However, a few days later, I received a letter saying that he had tried drinking tea from that tea bowl, but it didn't taste good. When he said it didn't taste good, I had no words to say in return. I immediately fired up a kiln and sent six of the bowls, but four were returned to me.

To perceive something as beautiful...

Being able to drink and have fun means...

As I experimented and tried various things, I gradually stopped worrying about what Professor Hayashiya would think, and instead focused on the scene of drinking tea, imagining myself preparing a cup for someone else... It reminded me, albeit a little, of feelings I had almost forgotten.

The pottery wheel is laid slowly and deliberately, the base is clean and simple, the design is not overly painted, leaving a lingering impression, it is made to perfectly fit a cup of tea, and it is enjoyable to rotate the bowl and admire it after drinking. The box is not the same as the bowl, but rather complements it. This time, some of the bowls were taken out of the kiln at high temperature and rapidly cooled in water in a drawer. The bowls themselves become soft like raku ware.

I'm not sure if the items I'm putting together this time are worthy of that, but thanks to this, it looks like it will be a good fresh start.

Teacher 82 years old, elementary school student 62 years old

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I hope to enjoy a pleasant smoke break.

Hiro