Through the Eyes of the Consul General of Japan in Detroit

It was my late 20s when I started pottery, captivated by a pair of Oribe-style bowls shaped like traditional Japanese sandals―so that was over 30 years ago. The Japanese aesthetic, which finds beauty in intentional ellipses rather than perfect circles, is unique in the world. Since then, every time I was posted overseas, I continued making pottery using local clay. In Geneva, I worked with French potters; in Bangkok, with Thai potters; and in Cairo, with Egyptian potters. Before I knew it, I started being called “Jimmy Potter” as a nickname (though I can’t actually use magic).
However, lacking opportunities in New York, I switched to oil painting. Since then, I have been painting landscapes. I had forgotten all about pottery. That is, until I visited Shigaraki in Shiga Prefecture last July.
 
Guided by Mr. Hiroaki Takahata (Director of the Shigaraki Ceramic Research Institute), who is also well known for supervising the NHK morning TV show “Scarlet,” I fully enjoyed the “non-racoon dog figurine” side of Shigaraki. What impressed me the most was the machine at Hayashida Iron Works. While pottery clay can be reused as long as it hasn’t been fired, the process is usually labor-intensive: you have to crush the dried clay, add water, and dry it in the sun. However, with Hayashida Iron Works’ clay kneading machine, you simply add clay and water, press a button, and the rehydrated clay comes out immediately. For potters, it was truly a “magical machine.”
 
“I want to promote Shigarakiyaki and the clay kneading machine as specialties of Shiga Prefecture at the NCECA Conference next March,” Ms. Keiko Nakajima said.
Michigan and Shiga Prefecture have been sister states for nearly 60 years, connected by their respective lakes. Approximately every two years, the Shiga Prefectural Office sends a staff member on assignment to the Michigan State Government, and currently, a staff member, Ms. Nakajima, is posted there. At Ms. Nakajima’s initiative, many people―including not only the Shigaraki community but also President Hideto Hasegawa of DAIDO (USA) Co., Ltd. and the Shibata’s―a ceramic artist couple―joined the effort. With the cooperation of the Japan Business Society of Detroit (JBSD) and the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies, the “Shigaraki Takeover” was launched.
 
The NCECA Conference was held at the Huntington Center in Detroit from March 25th-28th this year, and according to President Shoji Satake of NCECA, 7,000 people attended. A delegation from Mino City was also present. I joined Director Hiroaki Takahata at the venue to spin the potter’s wheel using clay from Hayashida Iron Works’ clay kneading machine. It was truly the comeback of Jimmy Potter after 11 years. State Representative Tyrone Carter also came to visit. “It reminded me of my mother, who used to do pottery and had a kiln in the basement of our house,” Representative Carter said with a laugh.
At the Detroit Public Library, there was also an exhibition of works by Japanese and American artists with deep ties to Shigaraki, and some of my older pieces were on display. Incidentally, even works of Tokonameyaki by the JBSD Executive Director, Mr. Harry Kawase, were on display (truly some Harry Potter magic! (^0^)). It was a week in which Ms. Nakajima’s “dream” swept through southeastern Michigan, from the exhibition and sale of the Shibata’s works at SORAYA Japanese Restaurant in the city to Director Takahata’s lectures at U of M and MSU. Congratulations, Keiko!
 
By the way, did you know that the direction of rotation on a potter’s wheel in Japan is exactly the opposite compared to other parts of the world? I’ll save that story for another time.