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With its rich history of world-class pottery and ceramics, Japan seemed the perfect choice for the Scottish Potters Association. As well as meeting top experts, they threw themselves into all things Japanese – riding on the bullet train, staying in a ryokan and even trying their hands at taiko drumming.
Some thought it would never happen but after 10 years of procrastination and research, 14 Scottish Potters set off to explore the ceramics of the potter’s mother country, Japan. Inside Japan tailor-made our tour and provided Kyio, our guide, who was as excited as we were to learn about Japanese methods of making and firing.
Kyoto
We started by visiting the gallery of Robert Yellin; an American ceramics expert, who writes for the New York Times and speaks fluent Japanese. In his gallery we were trusted with holding his most wonderful ancient and modern ceramics (which I am sure were hugely expensive!)
He took us to the workshops of two of Japan’s rising pottery stars. The first, Takuya Murata, demonstrated throwing porcelain, and the second, Shinya Tanoue, was equally fascinating – he and his wife produced the most wonderful traditional and modern pots.
As we were served tea and sweetmeats, their two year old zoomed about the pots on his plastic car, oblivious to the value of his father’s handiwork standing in front of the cooker! They were both amazingly relaxed about it.
It was interesting to see how neat and tidy the workshops were compared to ours! There’s something to be said for Japanese methods; a calm workshop makes for a calm mind, which they say inspires creativity!
One of the highlights of the trip was staying in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. After an exhausting day travelling we were desperate to collapse onto a bed… but there wasn’t one!
So we (four girls) went to the onsen instead to scrub ourselves upside down as instructed before sinking into the communal (and very hot) bath. Refreshed, we were given yukatas to wear before sitting down to a delicious meal. During this time futons were laid out in our rooms. We slept like babies – fuelled with plenty of sake!
Bizen
A visit to Bizen, a small village totally dedicated to ceramics, was unlike any other. Many families had several generations of potters and the cubby raccoon, a ceramic symbol of good luck, was everywhere.
Kyoto
Our four-night stay in Kyoto saw us become quite the experts in getting about on local transport. It gave us the chance to see all sides of the city; from its gardens to temples, to samurai districts, and designer shops.
Miyajima and Hiroshima
Our visit to the island of Miyajima proved to be rainy one, and as we wandered towards the famous red torii gates, the nosy deer were keen to investigate our pockets! We were lucky to see a marriage procession and have our fortunes told at the shrine here; learning the endless traditional ways of Japanese life was most illuminating.
Hiroshima was a very worthwhile experience. The story of the A bomb was told in the Peace Park in a very sensitive and factual way. They left one building standing as a memorial to the fallen.
Tokyo
After a ride on a very efficient and lightning speed shinkansen (bullet train) we moved on to Tokyo to spend the final four nights of our trip where we were treated to yet another ancient/modern experience.
Just two hours from Tokyo, Mashiko is a small village that has a biannual pottery fair with 400 stalls of incredible variety. The big excitement was that Kyio had organised a meeting with Tomoo Hamada; the grandson of Hamada, who (with Bernard Leach of the famous St Ives Pottery) started the movement of studio pottery as we know it today.
Taiko drumming was one of our last experiences. Our teacher (a very dedicated and spiritual man) sees it as a form of meditation. We were treated to an hour-long dramatic demonstration before being let free with our own drums, it was a fantastic experience.
Departing Japan, we had so much new knowledge, as well as a lesson in respect for nature and people. Regardless of where we went in Japan, we didn’t see a scrap of rubbish or chewing gum in the streets. The whole trip offered much insight and was a lot of fun.
We arrange tailor-made itineraries for all kinds of specialist groups – from rugby teams and maths clubs, to crafts and quilting collectives. For more information get in touch with our Tailormade Groups Manager, Samantha Hall.
To read more about the Scottish Potters Association, visit their website: www.scottishpotters.org