Shigaraki ware.
Today we're going to talk about Shigaraki ware.
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https://www.593touki.jp/ |
Shigaraki ware is pottery made in Shigaraki, Koga City, Shiga Prefecture
and is known for its raccoon dog figurines.
The clay found in Shigaraki is coarse and firm,
and when fired it turns a warm reddish brown.
Its simplicity is said to evoke a sense of wabi-sabi,
and it was also a favorite of many tea masters, including Sen no Rikyu.
Shigaraki ware can be used to make everything from small everyday items such as small plates, tea bowls and teacups
to large vases and objects that are taller than a person.
In front of the Shigaraki Station on the Shigaraki Kogen Railway Co.
there is a huge tanuki (raccoon dog) ceramic statue that is 5.3 meters tall and 6.6 meters around and has become a symbol of the town.
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https://www.e-shigaraki.org/ |
This tanuki is wearing a costume, but
it is said that six times a year, it changes its clothes based on design ideas chosen in contests and other events
it seems that the tanuki changes its clothes six times a year, based on design ideas chosen in contests and other events.
In addition, the artist Taro Okamoto also created many works in Shigaraki ware.
The Tower of the Sun, which was created for the Osaka Expo in 1970,
also uses Shigaraki ware.
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Tower of the Sun |
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The black sun |
The black sun on the back of the Tower of the Sun is made up of 4,000 Shigaraki ware tiles, all of which have slightly different shapes, including bulges and fine curves
was a collaborative work between the Shigaraki pottery studio and Taro Okamoto.
By the way, the Shigaraki tanuki figurines became famous
in 1951, when the Showa Emperor toured the country after the war.
When the Showa Emperor visited Shigaraki, he saw that many tanuki had been lined up along the road to welcome him
and he left a poem expressing his memories of the pottery he had collected as a child.
This episode was widely reported in newspapers and other media, and the tanuki figurines became known.
Incidentally, tanuki figurines account for 3% of all Shigaraki ware.
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