AUTUMN IN TAKAYAMA

AUTUMN IN TAKAYAMA

One of the most beautiful places on earth in Autumn is Takayama, sometimes called Hida-Takayama, which is located in the northeastern corner of Gifu Prefecture. The fall colors as you can see are breathtaking!

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Copyright 2008 by Hayato Tokugawa and East Meets West Fine Arts. All rights reserved.

KOKOKEI STATION

KOKOKEI STATION

These photos were taken from Kokokei station in Gifu prefecture , showing the surrounding landscape, including Amagahashi Bridge (The bridge of the Heavens). In Japanese Kokokei means “old tiger valley/gulch”; but of course, there are not tigers living there. The valley is so named because it closely resembles the area of Mt. Lu[1] in China.

Even in Japan, people tell an old story about Mt. Lu. It seems that once upon a time (all stories should start that way right?) there was a monk named Hui-Yuan[2] who lived on Mt. Lu and had not left the area for over thirty years. One day, his friends Riku Shushei[3] and To Enmei[4] came to see him. It was a great gathering and such a wonderful day for all of the old friends. When it came time for his friends to leave at the end of the day, Hui-Yuan walked with them to the bridge named Kokei to see them off.

Now, Hui-Yuan had made a commitment long ago, never to leave Mt. Lu, and had had never crossed the Kokei bridge, but he was having such a good time talking to his friends, even as he walked with them as they made their way to leave, he paid no attention to where he was. Suddenly he heard the loud roar of a tiger, which brought him reality. In the excitement of seeing his friends off, he had accidentally crossed Kokei and thus had descended from Mt. Lu, breaking his promise never to leave.

Well, that was long ago and far away, yet if you visit the area and leave the train here at Kokokei Station, you will be transported to a world that is very much like what you might see in an old Chinese brush painting or sumi-e; and, after getting off the train and it has left, all you will hear only the sound of the river.

[1] Mt. Lu or Mount Lushan (廬山) is a mountan located south of the city of Jiujiang in Jiangzi Province, near Lake Poyang and it was on its north slope where Hui-Yuin founded the Pure Land Buddhism in 402 A.D.
[2] Huiyuan (慧遠) or Hui-Yuan (334 AD – 416 AD) was a Chinese Buddhist teacher who began studying Zhuangtzi and Laozi at an early age as well as the teachings of Confucius; however, at the age of 21 he was converted to Buddhism by Dao An. Inspired by what he had learned, he left his family a began to teach on his own, later living at Forest Temple, which he founded on Mount Lu. In 404, he organized a group of monks and lay people into a Mahayana sect known as Pure Land Buddhism, the Pure Land being the western paradise of the Buddha Amaitabha.
[3] Riku Shushei was a Taoist scholar.
[4] To En Mei , also known as Tao Qian (陶潛) or Tao Ch’ien or Tao Yuanming (365 AD – 427 AD) was one of the most influential of the pre-Tang Dynasty poets. He came from a notable family which had unfortunately descended into poverty. As a youth, he was torn between his personal ambitions and a desire to retreat into solitude. He served in a series of minor governmental posts but at a time when his sister had tragically died and corruption and infighting in the Jin Court was at is peak, En Mei decided that for him, life was too short to compromise his principles and he resigned. As he put it, he would not “bow like a servant in return for five bushels of grain (later to become a common saying of proverb, Swallowing one’s pride in exchange for a meager existence. Approximately 130 of his poems have survived to modern times and apart from his poems, he is perhaps best nown for his short, wonderful depiction (in prose) of a land hidden from the outside world called Peach Blossom Spring (桃花源) or Tao Hua Yuan, which has become the standard term in Chinese for utopia.

INTERNATIONAL CERAMICS FESTIVAL, MINO, JAPAN

INTERNATIONAL CERAMICS FESTIVAL, MINO, JAPAN

The Tono (東濃) Region is the southeastern portion of Gifu Prefecture in central Honshū, Japan’s “main” island.  The borders of this region are not officially set but it is considered to consist of the cities of Tajimi (including Mino), Toki, Mizunami, Ena and Nakatsugawa (and sometimes Kani, depending on who you talk with).  The Toki River forms a border with Nagano Prefecture on the east and Aichi Prefecture to the south.  Interestingly, this region of about 358,000 people is almost 15% of the prefecture’s total population.

 

The cities of Tajimi, Toku and Mizunami, indeed the entire region, has flourished as one of the most famous ceramic production areas in Japan with production of unglazed earthenware dating as far back as the 7^th century A.D.  Since that time the industry has developed and grown, having particular growth and success during the Azuchi-Momayama Period[1] of the late 16^th century.  In particular the magnificent Oribe[2], Shino[3] and Kizeto[4] distinguish this time in Tono.  From this time on, ceramics developed not only as a function and role in daily life but as an artistic way of expression.  Today, building on the rich experiences and techniques of their ancestors, the artisans of Tajimi and the Mino district continue to produce a myriad of ceramic products, which include both Japanese-style as well as European style crockery, ties and hundreds if hot thousands of other items and products. 

 

The first International Ceramics Festival, Mino, Japan, was held in 1986 with the purpose of presenting to the world the magnificence of Mino-yaki or Mino ceramics, while at the same time promoting the exchange of ideas and information about the design, techniques, and culture of ceramics.  This month, marks the 8^th International Ceramics Festival at Mino.  There were a record 3,284 entries from 56 countries from around the world, proving that this festival has indeed come to represent ceramics on a global scale.  Of those entries, 857 passed the first stage and of those 192 were selected this year as award winning works and “honorable mentions”.  With the opening of this festival, Mino has been acknowledged with pride as a great national asset to Japan.

 

Whether the festival is in progress or not, a visitor to Ceramic Park Mino (about 10 minutes from our house) can enjoy hundreds of rich, beautiful, and sometimes strange or mysterious ceramic arts produced by both local and world artists.

 

For further reference please visit the following:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_pottery_and_porcelain

 

http://www.rdpslides.com/ccf/FAQ00002.htm

 

http://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/pref/s11355/sankeisitu/sangyo_web/english/ceramics.html

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[1] The Azuchi-Momoyama Period (安土桃山時代) came at the end of the Warring States Period of Japanese history when the political unification that preceded the Tokugawa Shogunate took place.  The period spans the years from about 1568 to 1603, during which time Oda Nobunaga and his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi imposed order upon the chaos that had existed in Japan since the collapse of the Ashikaga Shogunate in.  The name of this period is taken from Nobunaga’s castle, Azuchi Castle, which is located in the town of Azuchi in Shiga Prefecture, and Hidyoshi’s castle (Momoyama Castle) in Kyoto.

[2] Oribe ware (織部焼), or oribe-yaki, is a type of Japanese ceramics generally identified for its use of green copper glaze and bold painted designs.  It was the first use of colored stoneware glaze by Japanese potters and is one of the Mino styles, originating in the late 16^th century, taking its name from Master Furuta Oribe (1544 – 1615).

Oribe is a style of noted for its extensive variations.  There is great variety in the type of ceramics as well as the surface treatment of pieces.  Like many types of Japanese ceramics, bowls and dishes are common, but Oribe ware also includes lidded jars and handled food containers as well.  The clay used typically has a high iron content and is “thrown” by hand on a potter’s wheel or by drape molding.  The surface of an Oribe piece is then painted and decorated with lively designs which may be images of nature, geometric patterns, or a combination of the two.  White and clear glazes are also characteristically used.  For the brilliant green color, Oribe ware is fired in an oxygen rich environment at 1220° C.  If these conditions are lacking, the glaze may in the end turn to brown or red.

[3] Shino ware (志野焼), shono-yaki, is another type of Japanese ceramics most identifiable for thick white glazes, red scorch marks, and a texture of small holes.  Another one of the “Mino styles”, it dates back to the late 16^th century along with the Oribe style>  Like other “Mino wares”, the Shino style is based on older styles  with changes in shape, decoration, and finish.  Forms of Shino ware are commonly squat and cylindrical, as well as thick but lightweight.  Items common to this style included dishes, bowls and utensils used for tea ceremonies.

Pieces can be gray, red, or white, painted with iron oxide or decorated with glaze.  Shino  pieces tend to be fired at temperatures lower than those of the Oribe style and for a much longer period of time, followed by a very slow cooling process.  These conditions do not permit the glaze to completely melt resulting in a thick layer that often has a “crawling pattern.

Shino also refers to a classic Japanese glaze which ranges (as was noted above) from gray to white, to orange and often contains spodumene or some other source of lithium and/or nepheline syenite.  The orange color is achieved with thinner glaze coatings when fluxes in the glaze activate the iron content in the clay of the piece.  In the West, shino glazes are extremely popular and sought after by potters, particularly those that break from off-white to orange, often with unique effects caused by the trapping of carbon.

 

[4] Kizeto ware or Kizeto-yaki uses a glaze made from feldspar and ash with traces of iron.  It is distinctive for its yellow color and is often highlighted with designs using small amounts of Oribe glaze.  Kizeto ware is most often associated with  objects made for tea ceremonies and ikebana or the art of flower arranging.

Shino Cup

Shino Vase

Oribe Dish

WELCOME TO GIFU PREFECTURE, JAPAN

Welcome to Japan and to Gifu Prefecture (岐阜県,). Gifu Prefecture is a Japanese state that is located in the Chūbu or central region of Honshū, Japan’s main island. There are both cities and quaint, picturesque villages here, and our capital city is also called Gifu. Our area has long played an important role as the “crossroads” of Japan, connecting the eastern part of the land to the western part by way of such routes as the Nakasendō (one of the two routes during Japan’s Edo Period that connected the Tokugawa Shogun government in Edo (now Tokyo) with the Imperial Court in Kyoto). During Japan’s Sengoku Period, or the “Warring States Period” (mid-15th century to the beginning of the 17th century), it was said “control Gifu and you control Japan”

The area is beautiful mountains, valleys, rivers and streams, steeped in nature as well as Japanese history, art, and culture. This is where we live, work, teach, play, and raise our family. We hope you will visit us here often and we try to show you just some of what makes Gifu Prefecture such a wonderful and scenic place to live and to visit, and we hope that someday, you will also come to pay a visit our fantastic state.