Too Deep into Surfing

Hanada: What first sparked your interest in the world of pottery, Mr. Noguchi?

Etsuji Noguchi: When I was a university student, I got completely hooked on surfing and started working part-time at a surfboard factory.
Making surfboards turned out to be incredibly fun, and that experience first got me interested in “craftsmanship.”

Hanada: So it all started with surfboards.

Etsuji Noguchi: Yes. The core of a surfboard is polyurethane, which we carve into shape. Even if it’s the same design, the result differs depending on the craftsman.
The nuances of the lines and edges vary from person to person—that fascinated me. It’s similar to what I do now in ceramics.
I’m drawn to clean lines and sharp edges—that kind of precision really appeals to me.

Hanada: Did the factory let you make boards from the beginning?

Etsuji Noguchi: I just wanted to make things, so I said, “Please let me learn,” and started working for free.
At first, I was just doing repair work as instructed.
I still remember the shock when, after getting used to it and thinking “Alright, I nailed it!” I proudly showed my work to a senior craftsman, and he tore it apart—“What is this? It’s all bumpy!”
At the time, it looked perfectly flat to me.
Later, I realized my hands and eyes simply weren’t trained yet.

Hanada: Sounds like your university life revolved around surfing…

Etsuji Noguchi: I didn’t study at all (laughs).

Hanada: A typical college life story (laughs). I can’t really judge—I was the same.

What You Discover, Learn, and Begin by Going

Etsuji Noguchi: After graduation, when I was unsure of what to do, I came across a book in the library that mentioned pottery on Tanegashima Island (Note 1).
From that moment, my mind was completely set on Tanegashima (laughs).
I thought, “I can surf and work at the same time!” (laughs).
I also read an interview with master potter Takashi Nakazato—it was fascinating.
He started from scratch and built that unique Tanegashima pottery style himself.
I was inspired by that. Unlike established traditions such as Karatsu, Shigaraki, or Bizen, Tanegashima was something newly born—that idea appealed to me.

Hanada: So you decided to head to Tanegashima.

Etsuji Noguchi: I couldn’t resist the urge to go. I found the address in the Yellow Pages(a local business and services directory) at the library and went without even contacting anyone.

Hanada: And then you realized…

Etsuji Noguchi: Yes… (laughs).
Master Nakazato had already left the island.
And of course, a complete beginner with no experience or connections wasn’t going to be taken seriously…

Hanada: But you were already there in Tanegashima.

Etsuji Noguchi: Exactly. Since I had come all that way, I had to do something. I just kept saying, “Please let me learn.”

Hanada: There it is again (laughs). Just like at the surfboard factory.

Etsuji Noguchi: I kept insisting until someone asked, “Can you use a chainsaw?”
I had barely ever used one, but I immediately replied, “Yes, I can!” (laughs).

Hanada: That’s so you, Mr. Noguchi (laughs).

Etsuji Noguchi: And that’s how my life on Tanegashima began.
At first, I wasn’t even allowed to touch the clay. But before long, I was permitted to practice kneading clay in the mornings and evenings.
Eventually, I began teaching myself to use the potter’s wheel.
But my method was so unstructured that after about a year, I felt the need to study properly.

Hanada: And then?

Etsuji Noguchi: I wrote a letter to Master Nakazato in Karatsu and went to visit him. That was our first meeting.
He told me he no longer took apprentices, but he handed me a small plate—something every new apprentice would make at Ryuta Kiln (Nakazato’s workshop) —and said, “Practice with this.”
I went back home and practiced throwing that small plate on the wheel.
Later, I was occasionally invited by Taki Nakazato (Nakazato’s son) to help fire kilns or join meals. It was a modest but meaningful connection that continued for years.

Hanada: Visiting Karatsu led to a lasting connection.

Etsuji Noguchi: Yes. Years later, Master Nakazato contacted me, asking if he could fire work on Tanegashima for his 70th birthday exhibition.
My reference points had always been that little plate and the pieces he made long ago on Tanegashima.
When he saw what I was making, I think he recognized that “there’s a young potter working in this spirit.”
From there, we began talking about holding a two-person exhibition, and later, I accompanied him as his assistant during his projects in the U.S. and at Hananoki Kiln (A workshop established by Fujio Koyama, a leading scholar of Chinese ceramics).

Hanada: You built that relationship gradually. And eventually, your “switchback kiln” was born.

Etsuji Noguchi: Yes, while I was still learning by doing, I was firing in an anagama kiln about once every two months—even though I had no plans to sell anything (laughs).

Hanada: Once every two months? That’s impressive for self-taught work.

If Only the Kiln Could Float and Flip in the Air…

Etsuji Noguchi: Often, the front of the kiln fired well, but the chimney side didn’t. So I used to think, “If only the kiln could just float and flip midair!” (laughs).
Like something out of Doraemon.
At that time it was just a fantasy, but when I first saw a horizontal wood-fired kiln in the U.S., I realized my idea might actually be possible.
I sketched the concept and showed it to Master Nakazato, asking, “What do you think?” and he said, “Build it right away.”
So I said, “Yes, I’ll start right away.”

Hanada: Did it take long to make it work?

Etsuji Noguchi: The first firing didn’t reach full temperature, so the pieces weren’t as I had hoped, but the switchback kiln itself worked.
Once the principle was proven, it was just a matter of precision.
I changed the chimney on the second firing and kept refining it until it began to work smoothly.

Learning and Being Inspired Around the World

Hanada: You often travel overseas. Have you made any new discoveries, like with the horizontal wood-fired kiln?

Etsuji Noguchi: Yes, I built a switchback kiln at Northern Arizona University, and that experience taught me a lot.
Everyone there has such open-minded approaches—free from conventions.
I used to believe an anagama kiln had to be built on a slope, but they showed me otherwise.
Their kiln structures and tools are all so rational.
My own working methods have been greatly influenced by that experience.

In Love with the Clay of Tanegashima

Hanada: What do you value most in your work?

Etsuji Noguchi: This is the work I chose because I wanted to do it. So, basically, I just want to make what I truly want to make.

Hanada: What kind of things do you want to make?

Etsuji Noguchi: It changes depending on the time, but I want to stay honest to myself in each moment.
There was a time when I was completely absorbed in Master Nakazato’s style, trying hard to imitate his early works, but now I also want to create something different.

Hanada: What kind of difference?

Etsuji Noguchi: I love the clay of Tanegashima, so I want to develop a style that truly brings out its character.
Not by forcing something strange, but by letting the clay speak for itself.
Tanegashima clay is fine-grained and allows surprisingly thin forms, so I aim to express both the strength of wood-fired ceramics and a sense of delicacy and sharpness.
Though, who knows—I might be saying something else next time (laughs).

Hanada: That coexistence of earthy power and refined form—that’s what I love about your work.

What I Keep, What I Continue to Gain

Etsuji Noguchi: The flow of lines and the sharpness of edges—I’ve carried that impression from my surfboard days.
I also love ancient Sue pottery.

Hanada: Some of your pieces already show that influence.

Etsuji Noguchi: I also like the textures and lines of the Yayoi period. Recently, I’ve been getting interested in old glass as well.

Hanada: Is there anything you’d like to pursue going forward?

Etsuji Noguchi: Right now, I’m completely absorbed in my work.
I don’t worry too much about what’s around me—I just want to stay honest and focused on making.

Hanada: Any message for visitors to your upcoming exhibition?

Etsuji Noguchi: Almost everything was made using Tanegashima clay.
Lately, I’ve been deeply into green wood-fired stoneware.
I hope people will come and see it in person.

Hanada: Ms. Mizugaki said, “Please tell Mr. Noguchi I admire his pottery and look forward to meeting him.”

Etsuji Noguchi: I’ve only seen Ms. Mizugaki’s work in photos, but since most of my pieces are unglazed wood-fired pottery, I think our works will complement each other nicely.
Please give her my regards.

≪ END ≫

(Note 1) The pottery on Tanegashima, known as Tanegashima-yaki, began when local volunteers sought to revive the island’s traditional YOKINO ware. They consulted ceramic scholar Fujio Koyama, who recommended master potter Takashi Nakazato to come to the island. The name “Tanegashima-yaki” was given by Koyama himself.
It is characterized by unglazed, wood-fired ceramics that make full use of the iron-rich clay—primitive, expressive forms shaped by earth and flame.