Wanting to Make Things That Catch My Eye

Hanada: Did growing up with your family running a ceramics factory play a part in bringing you to this career?

Takuji Hayashi : I am sure it is connected in some way. But for as long as I can remember, I have just loved making things. Whenever I look at everyday objects or see something and think, “That’s nice,” I instantly want to try making it myself.

Hanada: Is that so? (laughs) What kind of things did you make?

Takuji Hayashi : At one point, I used to make silver accessories. Also, during my university years, I loved fishing, so I would carve wood to make my own lures. I could make them in just about any shape.

Hanada: Did you just teach yourself by observing others?

Takuji Hayashi : I started by modifying existing lures. But you know… in the end, you never catch any fish with something you have messed around with yourself. (laughs)

Hanada: (laughs) That is a common story, isn’t it?

Takuji Hayashi : If you overthink and over-modify it, it just doesn’t work. Even so, it made me happy when I occasionally caught something, so I kept experimenting. Come to think of it, I also did glassblowing for a while.

Hanada: Did you study pottery at school?

Takuji Hayashi : My major at university was chemistry.

Hanada: That is surprising.

Takuji Hayashi : I actually wanted to study design. I was interested in product design and applied to schools for that, but my cram school counselor sent out an application for chemistry without telling me. Apparently, they made the decision based on my grades. Chemistry wasn’t what I wanted at all. (laughs)

Hanada: Your grades in chemistry must have been very good.

Takuji Hayashi : No, not at all, it was just that my other subjects were terrible. (laughs) Chemistry was the only thing I had going for me. (laughs)

Hanada: How did you find studying chemistry?

Takuji Hayashi : I didn’t mind it too much, but I was such an unpromising student back then. I had no real interest in it—it was more like, as long as I get the credits, that’s fine. I just wanted to avoid being a burden to my parents. I think that was pretty typical for university students in our generation.

Hanada: Yet, you still found your way into making tableware.

Takuji Hayashi : University ended like that, and after graduating, I sold clothes, worked at a fishing tackle shop… I just couldn’t make up my mind to take over the family business. Since I was a child, there was an unwritten expectation that I would take over as the fourth generation. Maybe I was rebelling against that a bit. But eventually, after some time, I started attending pottery classes while keeping the family business in mind. I had helped out at home, so I knew how to do slip casting, but that was the first time I ever touched a pottery wheel.

Hanada: So you were torn between the family company and living as a ceramic artist.

Takuji Hayashi : I was torn between mass-production ceramics and handcrafted pottery. I would think about these things while going to pottery classes and making a living at the fishing tackle shop. I used to ponder it while out fishing. The heritage passed down through generations, what had been given to me, the state of the world—all these things were spinning around in my head.

Hanada: That sounds like a difficult dilemma. You saw your grandfather and father working desperately to protect the family business, and you understood the appeal of that work. At the same time, you wanted to create things and live as an individual maker. And now, instead of working at a mass-production factory in Seto, you are living as an independent artist.

Takuji Hayashi : You could say that I am who I am today because of that period. It was an important time for me. I worked at Hayashi Ceramics for a year, and then spent a year each studying at the ceramics research institute and the Seto ceramics training school. Today, I feel like I am carrying on the family legacy, just in a different form. I believe both mass-production factories and studio pottery have their own place. However, Hayashi Ceramics was moving away from tableware towards making clay pots and water filtration equipment, whereas I really wanted to keep making tableware.

Hanada: So studio pottery was the choice that allowed you to keep making tableware. Even so, surely there are instincts you developed while helping with the family business as a child?

Takuji Hayashi : Yes, now I can understand what my father was doing back then, realizing, “Ah, so that’s why he did it that way.”

Hanada: Is there anything you particularly treasure when making tableware?

Takuji Hayashi : While usability is an absolute prerequisite, what I personally pay the closest attention to is the form.

Hanada: What kind of form do you strive for?

Takuji Hayashi : In a single word, a “crisp” form. People use various expressions like sharp or soft, but in my case, I want it to feel crisp.

Hanada: I felt a certain “refreshing clarity” from them. Is that a different sensation?

Takuji Hayashi : By “crisp,” I mean I want to give people a feeling of, “I haven’t really seen this kind of shape before,” through subtle variations. Something that leaves an instant impression… like, there is something delightfully unique about it. Something that feels traditional, yet somehow modern. That applies to the glazes too.

Hanada: Would you say your signature work is indeed that oval plate?

Takuji Hayashi : I was truly happy myself when the oval plate first came together.

Hanada: How long have you been making it?

Takuji Hayashi : This year marks its 10th anniversary.

Hanada: The 10th anniversary of the oval plate!

Takuji Hayashi : At first, it was a bit flatter. I made it with a glaze that had a metallic feel, but I wasn’t fully satisfied with it. When I placed it at the edge of my stall at the Seto Ceramic Festival, someone came by and told me, “This is wonderful.” I was so happy to hear that. From there, I kept refining it. Rather than pursuing a specific function, the oval plate came from a shape I created that just clicked with me.

Hanada: Are there any pieces by other makers that you like?

Takuji Hayashi : I am interested in historical work from Seto. I like Ishizara (traditional sturdy pottery plates) and Ofukei ware. I particularly love the unique form of Ishizara plates.

Hanada: What would be a dream piece for you to create?

Takuji Hayashi : I love the color of celadon from the Southern Song Dynasty. I simply think it is a beautiful color. However, how I will translate that into my own forms is something to explore in the future.

Hanada: You have finally finished moving. What kind of work do you want to focus on going forward?

Takuji Hayashi : It is a place where hardly anyone comes, so I should be able to focus entirely on my work. Oh, right—while digging around the mountain behind my studio, I found clay. It is just a simple red clay with a lot of grit, but I am planning to test it out. Also, I am currently so overwhelmed with work that I don’t have time to think about new designs, so I want to carve out time for that as well.

Hanada: We look forward to your joint exhibition with Arata and Atsuko Anzai in October.

Takuji Hayashi : Thank you. It is my first time at Hanada, and also my first time exhibiting with Arata and Atsuko Anzai. I have known them for a while, and I really like their work; I even use their cup and saucer set at home. I am very much looking forward to it.

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