Ten Years One Pot | Kosaka Akira’s Time Dialogue with Clay

“I only make objects that the common people can afford,” but these bottles and jars contain sixty years of time and effort. They are not adorned with fancy carvings or glazed surfaces; instead, all the years of one’s expertise are incorporated into the simplest earthenware cups and bowls.
I first met Kosaka and his pottery ten years ago on this day.

Those tea pots and earthenware bowls at first glance seemed rough and casual, but when held in the hand, they felt as if they were growing on the palm.
In 2023, his passing made these pottery pieces become unique items. The black lacquered tea pot on my desk has been used for a full ten years. It has held tea, reflected the moonlight, and touched the warmth of the palm.Now, all these have become his fingerprints left in this world.

Ten years later, I finally understood his persistence: When pottery gives up the status of “artwork”, and bends down to embrace the ordinary life, it actually creates the most touching art.
May there be more artisans like him in this world, delving deeply into the most fundamental areas, allowing beauty to naturally grow. And those pottery pieces carrying his craftsmanship will continue to catch the morning and evening, as well as the four seasons, in some kitchen or tea room, on his behalf.

Mr. Kosaka Akira, may you still be able to hear the sound of time flowing through the objects in the depths of the earth. That is our longest-lasting remembrance of you.