Interview with Tetsuro Aoyama of Yahazugama

Opening a Kiln in Hometown "Hirukawa"

Tetsuro Aoyama is known as a master of glaze techniques and potter's wheel throwing. We visited Mr. Aoyama at Yahazu Kiln, named for good fortune after a ridge in Hirukawa resembling an arrow notch "yahazu," to hear about his ceramic art life spanning over 60 years.

The Oi Dam is located in the middle reaches of the main Kiso River flowing through southern Gifu Prefecture. The gorge "Ena Gorge" formed by this dam features a beautiful contrast of rugged rock walls, expansive water, and deep green trees. Crossing the Ena Gorge Bridge with the gorge below, we entered Hirukawa in Nakatsugawa City. Looking up at the mountain, the natural monument giant rock "Beniwa" shows its face. After proceeding along a narrow road at the foot of the mountain, a white gate wall appeared.

Mr. Aoyama acquired, through fortunate circumstances, a mountainside slope where he built his home and kiln in his hometown. At that time, construction work on the Ena Gorge Bridge was underway, and the land served as a disposal site for construction-generated soil. Using that large amount of earth, Mr. Aoyama himself reclaimed it into flat land. The extensive grounds include his home, a workshop with ample space, and a gallery/tea room. The large plum and pine trees planted upon completion tell the story of the passing years.

At age 15, Mr. Aoyama left his parents' home in Hirukawa and apprenticed under Shinobu Kato in Shitaishi, Toki City, Gifu Prefecture, known for Mino ware production. He says the opportunity came through an introduction from his middle school. Knowing nothing about ceramics, he decided to become an apprentice with only the condition that he could attend evening high school while living at the workshop. Looking back nostalgically on those times, he recalls managing to secure time for ceramics - wheel throwing and hand-forming - amid busy days of making craft tableware from molds and transporting them during the day, while attending school at night. Mr. Aoyama found himself completely absorbed in ceramics, and after graduating high school, he devoted himself even more intensively to the potter's wheel.

The early days of independence, which he started with a fellow ceramicist, brought great hardships. Joint pottery work using a borrowed vacant kiln did not go smoothly, and at year's end when they struggled with payments, they drove a truck to Harajuku, Tokyo, spread a mat in the limited places where they could do business without trouble, and sold their works in the falling snow - an unbelievable story by today's standards. After several years of such effort and hardship, he decided to return to Hirukawa.

The Fascination of Glazes

Having a kiln in this place, unconnected to ceramic production areas, came to have great significance for Mr. Aoyama's establishment of creative glaze techniques.

Mr. Aoyama speaks of his feelings at the time, saying that in the Mino ware area around Shitaishi, traditional glazes such as Shino, Oribe, and Ki-Seto were unavoidable paths. "I thought I couldn't make a living on my own." That's why, in the land of Hirukawa free from constraints, he could work on creative glaze formulations with a free mindset, unbounded by fixed concepts.

Various colors and textures of works line the gallery. Ash glaze, iron glaze, copper glaze, zinc oxide glaze, crystalline glaze... an unparalleled variety. Recent works feature radium glaze, made by powdering radium-bearing ore mined in Hirukawa and mixing it to achieve the proper concentration. The steamers and earthenware pots with this glaze are said to make food taste better through the effects of far-infrared rays and negative ions.

Mr. Aoyama, who values time when people can feel at ease, has a special commitment to the calming color "blue." The clear blue of the sky, the verdant green of lush vegetation, the blue-green of Okinawa's sea and deep ponds, transparent blue... There are infinite expressive blues that glazes create through material combinations and formulations differing by just a few percent. Concentration adjustment is particularly difficult, and Mr. Aoyama relies not only on a hydrometer but values the "hand" sensation when stirring. This is a skill achieved through years of experience and intuition.

The Art of Kiln Firing

Additionally, producing the imagined blue requires "clean" clay, making clay preparation a very important process. Four vacuum pugmills are placed in the workshop. Separating pugmills by clay type is because even a small amount of different clay mixed in will affect the finish.

Furthermore, Mr. Aoyama emphasizes that the way the kiln is fired matters more than glaze formulation in determining the finish. Which kiln to use, where in the kiln to place which pieces and how, and what about firing temperature settings, when to start lowering temperature, and firing time? Including combinations with reduction or oxidation firing methods, he says the finish is completely unpredictable. It doesn't come out as intended, never finishes the same way twice - that's surely the depth and fascination of ceramics.

The "gradation" created when works thrown from compatible clay, glazed with formulations created through trial and error, melt during firing. "There are still new discoveries there," says Mr. Aoyama. Looking forward to opening the kiln to see the fired works quickly, he laughs and says, "Sometimes I can't wait and open it a day early, ruining everything."

Potter's Wheel "Craftsman"

Regarding himself, Mr. Aoyama says, "I think of myself not as a ceramic artist but as a 'potter's wheel craftsman.'" He shared an episode from his apprenticeship days. Once, an order came in for a "standing ashtray" about 60cm tall. Mr. Aoyama thought that throwing the leg part on the wheel would be difficult because it was too tall and narrow, and having a joint would make it easy to break and not look beautiful. He trained daily until he could do "60cm fine throwing in one pull without joining." After several months, he became able to make it.

Large or thin craft pieces are made by pulling up straight on the wheel and then expanding, he explains. Round or large things are pulled up, the rim thickness is determined, and then they're expanded. You can't make it thin while expanding. In other words, being able to pull thin straight cylinders is the foundation of wheel technique. The skill acquired out of necessity for the ashtray gave Mr. Aoyama the opportunity to challenge large works, leading to his later path as a master of large wheel throwing.

Unfading Enthusiasm and Youthfulness

Mr. Aoyama, who will soon turn 80, says that no matter how late it gets when creating works, "it's not painful." I was surprised to hear that he does everything himself - wedging clay, lifting heavy pieces, carpentry. "Ceramics is enjoyable," "I love creating" - such feelings seem to overflow from him. Indeed, he says, "I still have plenty of enthusiasm."

Even with his long ceramic art career, "Even when I start creating with an image, sometimes I don't actually succeed." That's why, with the intention of returning to basics, he shared his future prospects: "I'm thinking of re-challenging works from my youth that I've cherished and valued."

The upcoming solo exhibition announcement features four large works using different glazes: purple-yellow color, white crystalline, two-color (blue-green and purple-yellow), and iron red glaze. Among them, the large iron red glaze bowl is a masterpiece from his 30s that he has long kept close at hand. Mr. Aoyama says he wants to "face them thoroughly once more." He says he wants to "review the glazes and create them carefully."

"It was 50 years in a flash," says Akiko. The two still work together in the workshop every day. "He's kind, serious. Not domineering," she says calmly about Mr. Aoyama. "Even if there were difficult times, I never once thought of it as hardship," and "I'm glad it was him."

We were drawn to Mr. Aoyama's pursuit of the essential beauty of pottery and his cheerful manner of speaking,
and to the harmonious appearance of him and Akiko together.