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PHOTO: Piece using ame-yu glaze by Ohi Toshio, the 11th-generation potter of the Ohi Family ceramic dynasty. There are few glazes in Japan as captivating as Ohi-yaki's ame-yu. Its rich caramel color is most often seen on chawan (tea bowls) and mizusashi (water jars), and the depth and elegance of the hues draw the viewer into a very serene world.
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Like Raku, Ohi is the name of a family as well as a style of pottery.
The Ohi family and its wares are indeed closely related to Raku. The first Ohi potter, Donyu, was the son of Raku III, and apprenticed to the fourth Raku master, Ichinyu. In Kanbun 6 (1666), Lord Maeda established the kiln under the guidance of Urasenke tea master Sen Soshitsu in the hamlet of Ohi, Ishikawa Prefecture. The first Ohi potter took the name Chozaemon.
As might be expected, most of the Ohi kiln output was chadogu (tea wares) in forms reminiscent of Raku pottery -- high-walled, rounded chawan. Both styles never use a potter's wheel but are all made either by a coil method or a carving-out technique.
The first six generations produced wares exclusively for the Maeda clan and it wasn't until the seventh generation (1834-1894) that the kiln produced wares for the general public. Due to shifts in national politics, the Ohi family lost the Maeda lords' patronage and their fortunes took a downward turn. To ensure their survival, the Ohi family had to adopt an outside potter, Nara Rikichi.
It was Chozaemon IX who was successful in bringing the embers back up to a bright and prosperous glow. Toshio (see top photo), the grandson of Chozaemon IX, was born in 1958 and makes all kinds of wares, not only for tea but also for the table, as well as large wall murals.
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Above two pieces by Chozaemon X
Photos courtesy of Ohi Museum, Ohi Gallery
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"When I was young I did not wish to be involved with the tea ceremony or ceramics," writes Toshio."I did not want to listen. As I have aged, I have become so much more sensitive to the voices of those who have preceded me."
"I have respected and admired my grandfather since I was a child," he continues in a reverent tone. It's clear from his current work that he has listened well. He probably became aware of those "voices" while he was away studying for his MFA at Boston University. Quite often we don't appreciate what we have until we step outside our circle and look back from the outside. This has happened with many potters born into traditional families, including Kichizaemon Raku XIV and the late Bizen potter Kaneshige Michiaki.
Toshio also wants to expand the Ohi tradition and he is doing this with his patchwork ceremonial vessels as well as his spiral motif tableware. He also makes some minimalistic wall plaques dotted with circles or etched with lines and points.
"Tradition," he writes, "is to receive past knowledge, break it down and use it in a creative way........Tradition shouldn't rely just on being passed down, but rather on there always being a next in line who has unreserved love for that tradition."
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LEARN MORE ABOUT OHI YAKI
SOME PLACES TO START
Chozaemon/Ohi Family web site
Ohi Yaki Japan Times Article (Expanded Version of Above Story) |
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