Interview with Mr. Sakamoto, Oita's Okanota-yaki Pottery The Reality of a 300-Year-Old Pottery Village

"Behind the Scenes of 'Expressions That Resonate'" focuses on "successful promoters of expressive activities" across various fields. This time, we spoke with Mr. Takumi Sakamoto, one of the leading kiln masters representing contemporary Onta-yaki pottery, about the thoughts he pours into his creations.

[About Onta-yaki]

A pottery brand continuously produced since the early 18th century in Onta, Hita City, Oita Prefecture. It is characterized by its non-expansionist approach of strictly family-based production passed down through a single lineage, handcrafting throughout all processes, and an anonymous works policy. It gained nationwide attention during the early Showa period's folk art movement led by Yanagi Muneyoshi and others. In 1995, it was designated a National Important Intangible Cultural Property, and in 2008, "Onta-yaki Village" was selected as a National Important Cultural Landscape.

 

Mr. Sakamoto Ko. On the left is his eldest son, Mr. Hajime, who is slated to become the next head of the family.

Okano pottery-making might just be the most primitive in Japan. Since pottery began in this village 300 years ago, the methods have remained almost unchanged. The local clay, water, and sunlight—the natural conditions—determine every aspect of the process. And it's entirely handmade. Ten cooperative households work together to dig clay from nearby mountains. They crush the clay using wooden mortars powered by the river flowing through the village. The clay is mixed in water tanks, allowing impurities to settle, creating the pottery clay. Each piece is shaped primarily on a kick wheel (a wheel turned by kicking) and dried in the sun. We fire the pieces in kilns using firewood from locally sourced Hita cedar, dried for two years. We have continued this process unchanged.

To be honest, it wasn't so much that we didn't change it, but rather that we couldn't. The narrow land in the hillside village offers no room for machinery. We don't take apprentices from outside either, because we can't add more potter's wheels, and there's no place to house them. The system of passing the craft down to only the eldest son—a single-heir tradition—was adopted out of necessity, simply because it was impossible to make a living otherwise. The meticulous hand-kneading is also based on the nature of Okaida clay. It's a weak clay, so the breakage rate is high. How many times have I thought about mixing in Arita clay? But doing that would destroy Okaida.

Okano's history is truly one of endurance and patience. I believe it survives today precisely because of its adverse conditions. Even when they wanted to produce more, they couldn't. Even when they tried to expand or modernize, they couldn't. If there is such a thing as an Okano brand, it was forged by the village's difficult circumstances.

In the village's history, figures like Yanagi Muneyoshi, Hamada Shoji, and Kawai Kanjiro are great mentors. Their folk art philosophy and movement brought light to Okaida. They also gave our predecessors, who previously lumped everything together as "Hita ware" without distinguishing it from surrounding areas, a sense of identity as "Okaida ware." The practice of not marking pieces with signatures stems from the belief that it would be unthinkable to do otherwise, since these masters themselves did not. There's a phrase, "the beauty of utility," but for us, the main thing is that people use these pieces in their daily lives. After all, they're handmade from clay formed over hundreds of millions of years.

The greatest change in our 300-year history might be becoming a village dedicated solely to pottery about 30 to 40 years ago. Before that, it was a half-farming, half-pottery lifestyle. There were even times when farming held greater importance. Perhaps a time will come again when we combine farming with pottery. Just as we have done until now, we will surely continue to find a balance with the village and live our lives.

Recently, receiving various designations from the government and being featured in the media feels strange to us. We haven't changed. Perhaps it's the world that has changed too much. From their perspective, maybe our unchanged ways seem valuable.

Nature's cycles are remarkably well-designed. For instance, during the rainy season, the river's water level rises, increasing the power of the mortar, allowing us to make more clay. However, the lack of sunlight means the pots don't dry fast enough, so we can't increase production. Humans simply have to adapt to this natural balance.

Representative patterns of Onta ware: "Flying Plane" (left) and "Brush Stroke"

Okano ware may be Japan's most primitively made pottery, but it might also be Japan's healthiest. It uses natural materials and energy, then is finished entirely by human hands. Healthy food served on healthy pottery. We hope that those who use it will find both their minds and bodies becoming healthier.