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| Blue Vase |
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| Studio Room with Wheels |
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| Bisque Kiln |
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| Climbing kiln (Noborigama) |
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| Kawai Kanjiro |
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| Plum Blossoms in the Imperial Park | | | | | |
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"Any work of art belongs to everyone, because it is whatever each person sees in it."
-Kawai Kanjiro
Yesterday was rather rainy. Though still warm. We thought we would read and work in the International Community House in the morning, but once there found it closed on Mondays. So we went back uptown and met old friends Berg and Somdev for lunch. Somdev is here for four years to teach Sanskrit. It seems a bit lonely for Berg. In the pouring rain we went to a small shrine hidden behind large office buildings, and then back to the hotel. Of course we had to buy the usual clear plastic umbrella of which there are billions in Kyoto.
Today we went in the morning to the Kawai Kanjiro House Museum. He was a famous a leader of the folk art movement and produced an astonishing output from his home. He never signed his pots and refused to be named a national treasure. We were first visitors of the day, and the home was lovely and peaceful, filled with pots as well as wonderful wooden furniture and sculpture. The photos above don't do it justice, but the climbing kiln (which took some 2000 bundles of wood to fire up and had eight levels) was quite astonishing.
After the visit we went to the University to meet Oyama-sensei, hear about our coming seminars, etc. He took us out to lunch at a wonderful little French place called Rive Gauche, where we enjoyed a many course meal in a French/Japanese way. Most memorable were the tiny whole squid in a salad with grape fruit, and a very delicious fish for the main course. We then took a leisurely stroll in the Imperial Park to see the plum trees, now a bit past their height but still lovely in the sunshine and ever so slightly fragrant.
We send love
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