Visiting Hyakkō, an Exhibition @JapanHouseLondon

I spent six months learning to make pottery in Mashiko, Japan. After a three-year apprenticeship with Lisa Hammond, who has deep ties to the country and many potter friends, I finished my time with my head full of images of people and places I’d imagined from her stories. She gives each graduating apprentice something meaningful, for me, she organised a period working as Ken Matsuzaki’s visiting apprentice. I was second to Doi Tsutomu, the full-time apprentice and engine that kept the busy pottery running. I was simply a cog. I began at the bottom, sweeping the yard each day and grinding endless Oribe dishes that had fused to kiln shelves. Then, one day, I was invited into the workshop and shown a set of throwing tools, I was then handed woodworking tools and bamboo; before I could throw on the kick-wheel, I first had to make my own tools. As a potter going to Japan, I was most excited to experience a culture that truly reveres craft. People grow up with handmade objects woven into daily life and society recognises their importance in a way we’ve partly lost in the West. I’d also heard about the intensity of the work ethic and wanted to experience it in Ken’s workshop. I’ve never worked more diligently, 80-hour weeks were the norm, and it was fascinating to see people dedicate themselves to craft almost monastically, not just one person, but a whole town. Eventually, I learned to throw yunomi and plates on the momentum-driven kick-wheel for Ken’s production. I’d throw the rough forms and Ken would trim and sign them. It felt like starting again. I had years of experience on an electric wheel, only to return to the beginning and rebuild from the ground up. I have fond memories of the people, the pace of work, and living in a town where nearly every street has ceramic studios and shops. Craft helps to sustain culture and it gives people an innate material understanding and knowledge that I think is severely overlooked here in certain parts of the world. Seeing the crafted objects at Hyakkō at @JapanHouseLondon left me longing for those months in Mashiko. If you love craft and pottery, I’m sure you’ll adore the exhibition. It’s free to attend and runs until 10 May. #japanhouselondon #ceramics #pottery #handmade #exhibition