How have you been dealing with the idea of taking over a kiln with such a long history of Hagi ware?

I have never been very good at expressing myself, so I used to think that maybe I wasn’t suited for taking over the kiln, but after I decided to go on to art school, I started to think that I would have to give it a more serious attempt. However, I also felt that if I was going to devote my long term career to ceramics, I wanted to do something that I could only do now. So, when I was in college, I also made sculptures out of metal. At the time, I didn’t think it would lead to anything at all, but now I think it was not a detour. The tool motif series was born from this experience, and I came to realize my own preferences for linear, architectural, and sharply contoured forms through the use of other materials.

My grandfather Tohbe Tahara, the 12th generation head of the family died when I was in elementary school, so I have not been able to see much of his work. So, what I have seen a lot is my father’s work. But I feel like if I keep doing the same thing I will end up copying my father, so I have a desire to move away from that. On the other hand, when I look at the works I have completed so far, I still feel that I am influenced by my father in some ways. In both good and bad ways, I think my father’s work has become my standard.

My father went to Karatsu for training, and he said, “It was a good opportunity for me to take a closer look at the work of people other than my own father.” Similarly, I went to Mino for training, but when I actually started work here, there were some times when the way of doing things in Mino gave me hints of how to approach things, and there were also times when various values were reversed. So I think that it is indeed an interesting experience to see work in other production areas and at other artists’ places.

Please tell us about any noteworthy experiences you have had at exhibitions abroad.

2018 was a year when various events were being held to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the establishment of Japanese-France relations, including an exhibition of Jakuchu Ito in Paris and a Kabuki performance. Right around that time, we had the opportunity to hold a tea ceremony and exhibit some of my works inside the Eiffel Tower. I also gave lectures at the City Hall of Lyon and the Université Grenoble Alpes. Although Hagi ware has a history of 400 years, it is not unusual to find things of that age in France. I did not just say that Hagi ware is great because it is old, but because it is a cultural pottery that has grown up together with the culture of tea, I could tell how it has been used, and they accepted it well. I felt that French people are very interested in culture.