| Gyouzan--行山 (MOUNTAIN TRAVEL) |
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| Actual
name-- Nakano Yukizou-- 中野行三 |
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| (Born 1940--
Showa 15). |
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| Apprenticed
under Wada Yoshiyama, he opened an independent kiln in 1972 (Showa 47). |
| He
specialized in colored clay pots, in sizes ranging from small and medium pots
up to |
| extremely
large shapes, until he had completed every possible size and shape of pot. He |
| exhaustively
researched the ingredients of clays as well as the methods of ceramic firing, |
| and worked
at reproducing the various clays from Chinese first-crossing pots, including:
udei |
| (black, or
crow-colored), toukadei (pink, or peach blossom), kakidei or shidei??
(reddish |
| brown, or
persimmon-colored), shidei (purple), and shudei (vermilion or red). Then,
around |
| 1976 (Showa
51), he perfected his own original clay color-- akebono (shodei-- sunrise |
| color). |
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| At first, he
produced pots by firing them in an electric kiln, but starting in 1984 (Showa
59), in |
| response to
a change in the ingredients of Tokoname clays, he had to switch over to a |
| gas-powered
kiln. Moreover, his pot-making methods changed then due to a serious illness |
| and physical
weakness he suffered shortly before switching to a gas kiln. He had been |
| shaping pots
by hand while using a pressing-mold, then firing them in the electric kiln. |
| Because the
larger pressing-molds are extremely heavy, he changed to using a footpedal |
| and string
method, a purer form of the hand-made concept. Even now, far more of his |
| products are
made just by hand, rather than using a mold |
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| Gyouzan pots
have an established reputation for both the shape and the quality of the clay |
| enhancing
the beauty of the trees planted in them, and are known for quickly acquiring
a |
| classic
patina as they are used. Currently, he is considered among the makers of
Tokoname |
| pots to be
the most famous and accomplished top-ranked artist. In 2004 (Heisei 16), a |
| retrospective
of his works was published, entitled Nakano Gyouzan: Splendor. A 35-year |
| Journey. |
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