Kawabata Seiya

I have great respect for traditional Japanese art. I admire those very fascinating historical artefacts. I receive various essences from those art works. I also add my own original ideas to create new works.

What are the sensations you get when you work with clay.

What I feel when I work with clay is the energy of the earth. Clay, they will be connected with the earth and the universe. Clay has existed since ancient times, receiving various energies. I create my work while feeling those energies with my own hands.

Are you Shinto or Buddhist? If you are a Buddhist, what is the correlation given that the Heart Sutra in your work. I mean empty & full. In the case of Shinto and other religions, what kind of correlation does your work have?

はい、私は日本の神道を信じています。そして仏陀も信じています。私は毎月の一日の日に地元の神社に参拝します。そして我々の幸せを神にお願いします。私の作る作品は、きっと神や仏陀とも結ばれていると私は考えます。ですから私は自らの作品に神や仏陀からの教えを表示する事も有ります。

(Yes, I believe in Japanese Shintoism. I also believe in Buddha. I visit a local shrine on the first day of every month. And I ask God for our happiness. I think that the works I create are surely connected with God and Buddha. Therefore, I sometimes display teachings from gods and Buddhas in my works.)

 When you prepare your work, do you plan and draw in advance? Are they clear in your mind? what is your influence? Are you the environment you live in, or do you just have a vision? What inspires you?

はい、その通りです。 陶芸家は多くの経験を積み重ねて、自らの作品を洗練させて行きます。 そして私はアーティストは旅をするべきだと考えます。1週間海外を旅する場合、多くの人々と時間を共有します。 それは人生の貴重な経験となります。そして、それらの旅で感じたフィーリングを私は自らの作品へ投影するでしょう。

(Yes, that's right. A potter accumulates a lot of experience and refines his work. And I think artists should travel. When I travel abroad for a week, I share my time with many people. It will be a precious experience in my life. And I will project the feelings I felt on those trips into my own work. When I prepare a work, I draw an image sketch in my notebook. Those images will appear. Nature such as mountains, rivers, wind, trees and flowers in the area where I live. There are also birds and animals. And sometimes I imagine it from the scenery I feel when I travel in Asia. I want to travel a lot and express that image in my works)

              Picture of Seiya’s  favorite shrine⛩️

はい、そうですね。 私は主に青磁の作品を今迄に制作して来ました。青磁の歴史を辿ると、中国の古い時代にたどり着きます。私は彼らの古い時代のフィーリングを感じながら自らの作品にもそれらのエネルギーを投影するでしょう。そして現代を生きる自分のフィーリングも私の作品に投影するでしょう。私の作った作品はおそらく100年後、200年後にも、きっとその時代に生きている人々に楽しんでもらえると、私は期待しています。

(Yes, That's right. I have mainly produced celadon works so far. The history of celadon can be traced back to ancient China. I will project that energy into my work while feeling their old-time feeling. And I will project my feeling of living in the present age into my work. I hope that the works I create will be enjoyed by people living in that era, perhaps 100 or 200 years from now.)

 私の今まで学んだ陶磁器の技術は沢山有ります。私は現在まで青磁の作品をメインに制作して来ました。しかし私が住んでいるエリアは桃山時代から有名な陶器が作られて来た場所です。それらの陶器は志野、織部、黄瀬戸、瀬戸黒です。私は人生の後半、それらの美濃地方の陶磁器の作品にも関わって作りたいと思います。

(Yes, there are a lot of pottery techniques that I have learned so far.Until now, I have mainly produced celadon works.However, the area where I live is a place where famous pottery has been made since the Momoyama period.Their pottery is Shino, Oribe, Kizeto, and Setoguro.In the second half of my life, I would like to be involved in making ceramic works from the Mino region.)

How important is to exhibit your ceramics in an art gallery, do you like Sunday markets?

アートギャラリーで自らの作品を展示する事は私にとって、とても大切な機会です。何故ならば私は多くの人々私の作品を手に取って見て欲しいと願っているからです。そして私は彼らから私の作品への感想を聞きたいです。そして私は彼らからのエネルギーを受け取り再び私の作品へフィードバックするでしょう。そして私は日曜日に開催される骨董市を楽しむ事はとても素晴らしいと思う。それらの古い時代の美術品は私に様々な物語を聞かせてくれます。

(Exhibiting my work at an art gallery is a very important opportunity for me. Because I want many people to see my work. And I would love to hear what they think of my work. And I will receive the energy from them and feed back to my work again. And I think it's great to enjoy the antique market on Sundays. Those old works of art tell me different stories.)

What do you think about the restoration of ceramics? Kintsuji or better give back to earth

陶磁器の修復技術である金継ぎは、とても素晴らしい文化です。金継ぎの技術は壊れた陶磁器に再び新たな魅力を投入して再び、それらを再生してくれるからです。我々は地球に埋蔵される有限な陶磁器の原料を大切に使ってゆくべき使命があると感じます。

(Kintsugi, a pottery restoration technique, is a wonderful culture. This is because the technique of Kintsugi reintroduces new charm to broken ceramics and regenerates them again. We feel that we have a mission to carefully use the finite resources of ceramics buried in the earth.)

Conceptually, we have very different cultures, so some questions may be too intimate. Thank u so much for your time, lately, u know well, as i commissioned to you few works for onihagi, one chawan goes to a famous researcher scientist and another to a great book writer and the last third job has a neuropsychiatrist. The Celadon market has a lot of interest for the American customer but above all your work has shown a lot of curiosity from my Chinese customers. For me it has been an electrifying experience to be introduced to your cultural world and I consider it an honor to have had the opportunity to collaborate with you and receive selected works directly from you, and I would like to ease the tension and ask you one last simple question.

Does your technique allow you to make other styles? What is the most suitable type of pottery for your origins and knowledge

私の今まで学んだ陶磁器の技術は沢山有ります。私は現在まで青磁の作品をメインに制作して来ました。しかし私が住んでいるエリアは桃山時代から有名な陶器が作られて来た場所です。それらの陶器は志野、織部、黄瀬戸、瀬戸黒です。私は人生の後半、それらの美濃地方の陶磁器の作品にも関わって作りたいと思います。

(Yes, there are a lot of pottery techniques that I have learned so far.Until now, I have mainly produced celadon works. However, the area where I live is a place where famous pottery has been made since the Momoyama period.Their pottery is Shino, Oribe, Kizeto, and Setoguro.In the second half of my life, I would like to be involved in making ceramic works from the Mino region. I was so pleased to make this interview, yestarday was past nine o'clock in the evening in Japan now so i took some time to answer. I tried answer your questions on religious topics and others as far as I understand. ) 

Thank u Mr. Kawabata , today i learn that your creations are the result of a synergy of experience and commitment, the attention to detail that a master potter puts into their creations every day.

Manuel Jensa & Onihagi 

A solo exhibition will be held at the Osaka Takashimaya 6th floor art gallery.