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Bizen WareThe more than 1.3-million-year-old clay is the essence of the unique charmsSome of the main features of Bizen ware are the following: no design, no glaze, and earthy expressions.The essence of the expressions of Bizen ware lies in the clay.There are three categories to the weathered granite used for pottery: “porcelain clay,” “mountain clay (yamatsuchi)” and “bottom of rice field clay (hiyose).”Porcelain clay is found near mountaintops and is made of soil that has been weathered for a period of 10,000 to 15,000 years. In terms of Japanese pottery styles, it is used for Arita ware and Imari porcelain among others.Mountain clay is made of a mixture of mountain soil and porcelain clay which has moved down the mountain from the mountaintop over a period of 100,000 years. This is mainly used in crockery and Shigaraki ware.Bottom of rice field clay (hiyose) is created when this mountain clay descends down to the plains over a period of more than 1.3 million years and mixes with various soils of differing components. Traditional Bizen ware is made of this hiyose.The tones of the color of the raw material changes in the wood-fired climbing kiln by the chemical reactions of the fire and ashes, and unique patterns are created. Patterns differ depending on where the item is placed in the kiln; making each and every item unique. Many people are captured by these charms created by nature.Conversation with Kazu Fujiwara and Kazuhiro IshideThe Fujiwara family takes half a century to prepare clay for their Bizen wareIshide (Hereinafter I): Jumping right into the topic, I first encountered Bizen ware more than 30 years ago when I was given a piece created by Ken Fujiwara from one of my clients. Honestly speaking, I wasn’t able to appreciate its appeals fully, but it gave me a strong impact. I thought, “What is this?” Fujiwara (Hereinafter F): Ken Fujiwara’s works are “poisonous.” When you’re bit by them, the “poison” spreads through your whole body and you are brought under the spell of his creative charms.I: A few years later, my wife brought home a pitcher she had fell in love with and purchased saying, “I found a nice one at a department store.” This just happened to be a piece by Fujiwara. There must be something extremely attractive in the works by the Fujiwara family. I also feel power from the clay that is used. Is there something different about the clay you use?F: Yes. We use clay (hiyose) of including the organic matter that is dug out from the bottom of rice fields which has been formed over 1.5 million years. We remove foreign debris from this clay by hand, process it, and let it stand before using it as pottery clay. It is extremely important for the clay to be let stand like this. In our family, we usually use clay that has been let standing for about 65 years.I: So there is a certain way in using clay in order to create durable pottery. Architecture also shares a similar aspect. There is this miyadaiku (Shrine carpenter) named Tsunekazu Nishioka who was engaged in the rebuilding of Horyu-ji Temple. I have had the chance to meet him myself and I have also sent many carpenters from my company to train under him. He has written in his book “Ki no kokoro (The Heart of Trees) ” that “the hinoki cypress becomes hard enough for construction only after 1,000 years” .F: I think the production of Bizen ware has been continued for 1,000 years only because our predecessors involved in Bizen ware considered matters with a long-term vision. Looking across the world, only the kilns for firing Bizen ware has continued to be fired for 1,000 years. This continuation is deeply significant. There has also been a considerable demand. For example, especially from around the mid-14th century to the early 20th century, it is said that 70% of the kitchen tools in Japan such as jars for food storage purpose was made in the Bizen region.I: Are there times when the hand positions for the shaping process handed down from generation to generation have influence on the quality of the finished item?F: Yes, I think that element could influence the quality of the pottery.090Fujiwara Kazu / Ishide KazuhiroDialoguechapter 2