DESIGN

Kokontozai: KASHIYUKA’s Shop of Japanese Arts and Crafts — Multicolored Plate

『カーサブルータス』2025年1月号より

January 8, 2025 | Design | KASHIYUKA’s Shop of Japanese Arts and Crafts | photo_Keisuke Fukamizu hair & make-up_Masako Osuga editor_Masae Wako　translation_ Mika Yoshida & David G. Imber

Searching all of Japan for handcrafted items that express its heart and soul, our proprietor, KASHIYUKA, presents things that bring a bit of luxury to everyday life. This trip led her to Tottori, where traditional mingei and contemporary crafts exist side by side. She encountered vivid colored utsuwa ceramics made using a technique called "kakewake".

“I love the modernistic colors and forms of the mingei of Tottori,” says KASHIYUKA while visiting the Inshū Nakaigama kiln, which has been operating since 1945. In the western region of Tottori, the studio’s taken the lead in the traditional craft philosophy known as mingei with their distinctive separation of colors and glazes in the making of somewake zara [so-meh-wa-keh zara], multicolored dishes, as well as their line of craft known as Yanagi Sori Direction, named for the celebrated designer.

Some time back, when attending a mingei exhibition, I was curiously drawn to the handcrafts of Tottori prefecture. Under the guidance of Yoshida Shōya, known as the father of the Tottori mingei movement, the Inshū Nakaigama kiln has led the challenge of introducing new forms and colors in ceramics. The kiln is known for its varied line of dishware using a technique called somewake, utilizing discrete green, white, and black glazes.

Purchase No. 80【Multicolored Plate】Green, white, and black glazes speak a new language based in tradition.

“We collect local earth to make our pottery clay, and burn wood and straw for the ash that comprises our glazes. We also make all of the preparation tools ourselves,” says Mr. Sakamoto Akira, the studio’s third-generation director. In a studio wherein every corner contains light and an air of calmness, we observe the casting process.